THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

DAVIS 


DAYLIGHT    LAND 

BY  W.  H.  H.  MURRAY 


OUT  OF  THE  WHITE  BLANKNESS  STARTED   LETTERS  RED  AS  BLOOD. 
See  page  293. 


DAYLIGHT  LAND 


The  Experiences,  Incidents,  and  Adventures,  Humorous  and  Other 
wise,  which  befel  Judge  JOHN  DOE,  Tourist,  of  San  Francisco  ; 
Mr.  CEPHAS  PEPPERELL,  Capitalist,  of  Boston  ;  Colonel 
GOFFE,  the  Man  from  New  Hampshire,  and  divers 
others,  in  their  Par  lor- Car  Excursion  over 
Prairie  and  Mountain 


ALL   OF   WHICH    I    SAW,   AND   ONE   OF   WHOM   I   WAS 

As  recorded  and  set  forth  by 

W.   H.   H.  MURRAY 


ILLUSTRATED   WITH  ONE  HUNDRED  AND 
FORTY  DESIGNS  IN  COLORS 

UNDER    THE   SUPERVISION    OF 

J.  B.  MILLET 


BOSTON 
CUPPLES  AND   KURD 

M  DCCC  LXXXVIIT 


LIBRARY 

DIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
DAVIS 


Copyright,  1888, 
BY  F.  MARGUE1UTA  MURRAY. 

All  rights  reserved. 


The  Riverside  Press,  Cambridge  : 
Electrotyped  and  Printed  by  H.  0.  Houghton  &  Co. 


To 
GEORGE  STEWART,  JR.,  D.  C.  L.,  D.  LITT.,  F.  R.  G.  S. 

OF    QUEBEC 

WHO  HAPPILY  REPRESENTS 

THE    BEST    THAT    THERE    IS    IN    CANADIAN    CULTURE    AND    CHARACTER 

I    DEDICATE 

IN  EVIDENCE   OF   MY  ESTEEM  AND  ADMIRATION 
THIS  VOLUME 

THE  AUTHOR 


CONTENTS.' 


PAGE 
CHAP. 

INTRODUCTION      .     v.        •       ••••        •        •        *        •'       • 

I.    THE  MEETING          •        •        •        •        • 

II.    AT  BREAKFAST    .  .        .        * 

III.  A  VERY  HOPEFUL  MAN  .        ....        .        •        42 

IV.  THE  BIG  NEPIGON  TROUT  . 53 

V.  THE  MAN  IN  THE  VELVETEEN  JACKET  68 

VI.    THE  CAPITALIST  . 95 

VII.    A  JOLLY  CAMP  AT  RUSH  LAKE       .  .        .        •        .121 

VIII.   BIG  GAME     .        .        .        .     •    .        -  »        -        •        •  139 

IX.    A  STRANGE  MIDNIGHT  RIDE  .         .  .        ...      167 

X.   BANFF  .        ...        .        .        .  -        •        •          183 

XI.    NAMELESS  MOUNTAINS     .         .        ,  .        -        •        .211 

XII.    SABBATH  AMONG  THE  MOUNTAINS      .  .        .        •        •  224 


10  CONTENTS. 

CHAP.  PAGE 

XIII.  THE  GREAT  GLACIER 258 

XIV.  THE  HERMIT  OF  FRASER  CANON        .        .  .        .           274 
XV.  FISH  AND  FISHING  IN  BRITISH  COLUMBIA  .        .        .      298 

XVI.  VANCOUVER          .....  .  307 

XVII.  THE  PARTING  AT  VICTORIA     .  326 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

FROM  DESIGNS  BY  J.  D.  WOODWARD,  J.  C.  DURAND,  C.  BROUGH- 
TON,  C.  COPELAND,  J.  CARTER  BEARD,  C.  H.  JOHNSON,  AND 
OTHERS. 


PAGE 
"OUT    OF   THE    WHITE    BLANKNESS    STARTED    LETTERS    RED   AS 

BLOOD" Frontispiece 

VERMILION  LAKES    ........  9 

THE  JUDGE  .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         -10 

THE  THREE  SISTERS,  CANMORE 11 

"  A    SCHOLARLY    LOOKING   MAN  "  .....       15 

A   VOICE   FROM   THE    DOORWAY  .  .  .  17 

"  I    GO   AS    A   PILGRIM  ".....  .18 

"•'  THOU   SHALT   WRITE   US "  .  21 

THE  Bow  RIVER,  NEAR  CALGARY  .         .         •                  .23 
INITIAL  LETTER        .         .         .         . 

"  OUR  HANDS  MET  LIKE  A  FLASH "  .         •         .         .     24 

ON  THE  ROAD  TO  THE  GLACIER       .  .                                    25 

"  HOW  FRESH  THE  LADIES  LOOK "  .         .         •         •         .28 

JACKFISH  CROSSING,  LAKE  SUPERIOR  .                                    29 

INITIAL  LETTER   .         .         .  .         .         •         •         .29 


12  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

" COUNT  THE  CLICKS"       .  •      .         .      •  .-'"  .         0         .30 

THE  WAITER        .^       .         .         .         .         .  .         .         .31 

THE  FIRST  BRIDGE  .         .        .         .         .  .        .         .         33 

THE  ROPE  BRIDGE       .         »         .         .         .  .         .         .     35 

CARIBOU  ROAD  BRIDGE,  FRASER  RIVER        .    .         .         .         37 

A  REAL  GEM       .         .         ...         .  .39 

RED  ROCK  AND  NEPIGON  BAY          .         .  ;         .         .         41 

THUNDER  CAPE,  LAKE  SUPERIOR         .         .  .         .         .42 

INITIAL  LETTER        ,         .         .         .         .  ...         42 

CROWFOOT  ENCAMPMENT      .         .         .         .  "•••..        .         .     45 

THE  JUDGE  GLARED          .         .         .         .       ..         .         .         48 

"  DYNAMITE  is  N'T  so  BAD,  AFTER  ALL  "     .  .  .         .         .52 

GRIFFIN  LAKE,  EAGLE  PASS    .               .  .  -  .         .         .         53 

INITIAL  LETTER  .         ..        .         .         .         .  .         .         .53 

CIVILIZATION  MEANS  LUXURY  .         .         .  .         .         .         54 

FRASER  CANON,  ABOVE  SPUZZUM          .         .  ,         .         .     57 

"  JERUSALEM  !  HE  's  A  TWENTY-POUNDER  "  .         .         .         63 

ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER    .         .         .         .  .         .         .67 

SALMON  CACHE         .         .         .         .         .  .         ...         68 

INITIAL  LETTER  .         .         .         .         .         .  .         .         .68 

MT.  CARROLL,  FROM  THE  WEST       .         .  .         ...      71 

THE  HACKMAN     .         .         .         ......     79 

THE  RUNAWAY  COLT        .         .         .         ....         87 

"  THE    DOG   AND    CAT    MET  " 91 

A  MINER'S  HUT 94 

MT.  MACK  AY,  NEAR  PORT  ARTHUR     .         .         .         .         .95 
INITIAL  LETTER 95 

"  I    AM   DELIGHTED   TO    GREET   YOU  " 97 

"  BUSTED,  COMPLETELY  BUSTED  ".....       102 

BLACK  CANON 103 

"HE  FOLLOWED  ME"        . 105 

GOATS'  HEADS 106 

"ON   A    CLIFF,    STOOD    PERCUSSION"  .  .  .  .          107 

GOATS'  HEADS      ......         .         .  .  109 

THE  PATH  OF  THE  AVALANCHE        .         .         .         ,  .       Ill 

THE  MAN  OF  SCIENCE .  115 

A  TRIAL  OF  STRENGTH    ...  116 


LIST  OF   ILLUSTRATIONS.  13 

"  HE  STRUCK  THE  MAN  OF  SCIENCE  "  .         .         .         .  .  120 

NEAR  REVELSTOKE 121 

INITIAL  LETTER  .         .         .                  ....  .  121 

JACK  OSGOOD    .         .         .         ,        ,        .         .       ~*         .  123 

PRIMITIVE  TRANSPORTATION         -         .         .         .         .  .  125 

INDIAN  GIRL    .         .         .         .                 .                  .  131 

THE  MAN  FROM  NEW  HAMPSHIRE       .         .         .         .   x  .  135 

KANANASKIS  FALLS  .     '   .         .         .                  .         .         .  138 

THE  MOUNTAIN  LION           .         .         .         .         .         .  .  139 

INITIAL  LETTER        .                  .         .         .        .         .         .  139 

GRAY  WOLF         .         .        ..         .         ...  .140 

WHITE  TAIL  DEER  .                                                     .         .  141 

BUFFALO       .         .         .         .         .                  •         .  .  144 

WHITE  Fox      .         .         .        .         .                  ...  146 

MUSK  Ox     .         .         .         .         .         .         .                  .  .  148 

PRONG  HORN  ANTELOPE  .         .         .         .                 .         *  149 

CARIBOU       .         .         .         ...         .         .         .  .  152 

ROCKY  MOUNTAIN  GOAT  .         .         .         .         .         .         .  154 

ROCKY  MOUNTAIN  SHEEP    .         .                  .         .         .  .  157 

THE  GRIZZLY  BEAR                   .                           .                 .  161 

MOOSE           .         .        .         .         •         •         .         .         •  •  163 

SEA  OTTER       .        .         .         .         ...         .         .  166 

Bow  RIVER  AND  CASCADE  MOUNTAINS,  NEAR  BANFF  .  167 

INITIAL  LETTER        .         .                           •         •         •  167 

IN  THE  SELKIRKS         .         .         •         •         .         .        .  •  169 

KICKING  HORSE  PASS       .         .                  .                  .         •  176 

SAPOMAXICOW,  CHIEF  OF  BLACKFEET  .         .                  .  .  179 

FALLS  OF  THE  Bow,  BANFF     .         .         ....  183 

INITIAL  LETTER            ...         .         .         •         •         .  .  183 

THE  Bow  RIVER,  BANFF          .                        .  .                  .  187 

MT.  STEPHEN,  AND  GLACIER,  AND  CATHEDRAL  MOUNTAIN  .  191 

FRASER  CANON,  BELOW  NORTH  BEND      ....  197 

VERMILION  LAKES        .         .         .         .         .         .         •  •  208 

ON  THE  TOTE  ROAD         .        .                  *        .         .         .  209 

VAN  HORNE  RANGE    .         .         ...         .         .  .  211 

INITIAL  LETTER        .         ....        .                  .  '211 

ALBERT  CANON ,         .         .  .  215 


14  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

CATHEDRAL  PEAK     .....  .217 

MT.  FIELD  ...  .  .  .222 

RUBY  CREEK .         .223 

HERMIT  RANGE .  224 

INITIAL  LETTER 224 

"  THERE  COMES  OUR  CLERGYMAN  "       .         ...         .  225 

Ross  PEAK        . 229 

A  MOUNTAIN  PICNIC  ........  237 

EAST  OTTERTAIL .     •    .       245 

THE  CHANCELLOR 253 

GREAT  GLACIER  FROM  THE  SNOW  SHEDS          .         .         .       258 

INITIAL  LETTER  . 258 

CLIMBING  THE  GREAT  GLACIER 260 

THE  GREAT  GLACIER 261 

MT.  HERMIT,  ROGERS  PASS       .         .         ,         .         .         .       265 
SIR  DONALD         .        .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .  271 

MT.  STEPHEN,  FROM  THE  EAST        .         .         .         .         .       273 

KICKING  HORSE  LAKE,  HECTOR  .         .         .         .         .         .  274 

INITIAL  LETTER        .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .       274 

CARIBOU  WAGON  ROAD,  FRASER  CANON      .         .         .         .  276 

EAGLE  PEAK    .         .     .   .  '      .         .         .         .         .         .       277 

SYMBOLS  AND  FIGURES         .         .         .         .  .         .  282 

"  ON  THE  ROCK  WAS  A  LETTER  '  C  '  '        .         .         .         .       285 

INDIAN  BURYING  GROUND    .         .  .         .         .         .  288 

Bow  RIVER      .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .       297 

CHINOOK  INDIANS         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .  298 

INITIAL  LETTER        .         .         .         .         ...         .       298 

HOPE  PEAKS        ...         .         .         ...         .  300 

CASTELLATED  CLIFFS,  ASHCROFT       .         .         .         .         .       302 

SALMON  DRYING  .  .         .         .         .         .         .         .  304 

DRYING  CANDLE  FISH      ...        .         ...         .       305 

KAMLOOPS  LAKE  .         .         .         .         ...         .  307 

INITIAL  LETTER        .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .       307 

TOSSING  FOR  CORNER  LOTS  .         .         .         .         .         .         .  309 

PANORAMIC  VIEW  FROM  VANCOUVER          .         .         .       312,  313 
CEDAR  TREE,  VANCOUVER  PARK          .  .         .         .  315 

SPRUCE  TREE,  VANCOUVER  PARK  319 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


15 


THE  BALL 323 

INDIAN  CHIEF'S  GRAVE 325 

PITT  RIVER 326 

INITIAL  LETTER        .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .       326 

SIWASH  CANOES    .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .  327 

AN  OLD  SQUAW        .         .         .         .      ...         .       %.         ,       330 

MEDICINE  MAN    .         ...         .         .  *•    .     .  330 

INDIAN  HERMIT        .         .         .         .         .         .  .       331 

SQUAW  OF  THE  MEDICINE  MAN 331 

AT  NEW  WESTMINSTER    .         .         .         .         .         .         .       332 

FLATHEAD  INDIANS      .         .         ....         ..        .  334 

THE  PARTING  .  .......      335 

AT  THE  STATION          ....  .  338 


INTRODUCTION. 


Speed  the  going  guest. 

"  WHITHER  art  thou  going,  0  wanderer,  this  sum 
mer  ?  "  said  a  pleasant  voice  from  the  doorway,  as  I 
canie  up  the  gravel  walk.  "  Are  you  going  to  the 
North  and  the  home  of  ice,  or  to  the  East  and  the 
gates  of  the  morning  ?  Or  do 
you  long  for  the  odor  of  trop 
ical  flowers  and  the  flash  of 
colored  wings  ?  Or  shall  you 
voyage  to  the  West,  that  land 
of  old-time  fable,  in  which  the 
blessed  lived  ?  Tell  me,  thou 
ranger  of  woods,  with  thy 
whitened  head  and  the  heart 
of  a  boy,  whither  goest  thou 
this  summer  ?  " 

"  I  am  going,  fail-  princess," 
I  said,  imitating  the  lightness 
of  her  phrasing,  —  "I  am  go 
ing  to  the  AVest,  to  that  heaven 
of  the  old-time  folk,  where  the 
colors  on  the  clouds  are  as 
golden  as  thy  hair,  and  the  sky  as  blue  as  thine  eyes. 
I  am  going  to  the  West,  fair  princess,  where  the  plains 
are  of  emerald,  the  mountains  snow-crowned,  and  the 
streams  flow  yellow  with  gold." 


18 


INTRODUCTION. 


"  How  goest  thou,  0  wanderer  ? "  continued  the 
voice  banteringly  from  the  doorway.  "  Has  Phoebus 
loaned  you  his  car  and  taught  you  the  government  of 
his  steeds  ?  Beware  !  Remember  the  fate  of  Phaeton  ! 
Or  has  the  sea  sent  you  word  that  the  Dolphins  are 

waiting,  all  harnessed  to  the 
bowl  of  the  pink  pearl  shell  ? 
Or  do  you  go  like  a  true  pil 
grim,  with  sandalled  foot  and 
scalloped  shoon  ?  Is  it  by  the 
poetry  or  prose  of  power  that 
you  are  to  be  drawn  ?  " 

"  By    both/'    I    responded. 
"The    fate    of    Phaeton    has 
warned    me,   and    the    pearly 
shell  car  of    the  Dolphins  is 
small.     I  go  as  a  pilgrim,  but 
a  pilgrim  favored  by  the  gods. 
I  have  sandals,  and  I  shall  walk 
when  I  choose.    I  have  wings, 
—  wings  like  an  eagle's,  and  I 
shall  fly  where  I  will.      And 
whether  I  fly  or  walk,  I  shall  go  with  eyes  open." 
"  '  I ! '    You  surely  go  not  alone  !  " 
"  Ay,    alone,"    I    responded,  —  "  alone    with    my 
thoughts  and  my  fancies,  an    endless    train    of    com 
panions." 

"But  surely  thou  shouldst  take  one  friend  at  least 
for  the  night,  one  comrade  for  the  trail  ?  " 

"  Sweet  spirit,"  I  rejoined,  "  the  cheerful  face,  the 
courteous  tongue,  the  open  hand,  the  honest  heart,  find 


INTRODUCTION.  19 

friends  where'er  they  go.  All  camp-fires  shine  for 
such,  all  doors  fly  open  at  their  coming.  The  listen 
ing  ear  finds  voice  of  knowledge,  and  for  the  seeing 
eye  God  paints  his  pictures  everywhere.  He  who  takes 
humor  with  him  has  princely  entertainment  with  a 
crust,  and  mirthfulness  laughs  the  long  road  short. 
The  young  need  company  beyond  themselves,  but  with 
the  whitened  head  come  thoughts  which  make  com 
panionship." 

"  0  wise  philosopher  !  "  exclaimed  the  voice  more 
soberly,  "  hast  thou  a  charm  against  danger  and  an 
amulet  for  ill  ?  Dost  thou  not  fear  to  leave  the  loved 
behind?" 

66  He  who  loves  takes  all  his  loved  ones  with  him 
where'er  he  goes,"  I  answered.  "  Even  their  cares  and 
wants  abide  with  him,  and  the  air  which  is  forever 
round  him  on  all  sides  is  as  a  polished  mirror  to  re 
flect  their  faces.  Love  owns  imagination,  and  in  it  as 
a  constant  sky  she  sees  forever  all  her  stars  fast  fixed." 

"  If  we  may  not  go  with  thee,  dear  one,"  she  an 
swered,  "  then  our  conspiracy  must  be  uncovered. 
Each  year  thou  leavest  us  —  it  is  thy  habit,  and  for 
weeks  we  have  mistrusted  thee.  Hence  we  have  coun 
selled —  we  of  thy  hearth  and  heart  —  and  plotted 
lovingly,  and  I  am  spokeswoman  of  the  plot.  We 
have  decided  we  will  not  let  you  go  unless  you  give 
us  solemn  promise." 

"  Promise  ?  I  will  promise  anything  —  on  such  an 
altar  swear  at  random.  Bring  out  the  household. 
You  are  all  rogues  alike,  for  they  come  quickly  at  your 
signal,  —  too  quickly  to  be  honest.  Now  see  I  such 


20  INTRODUCTION. 

sweet  tyrannies  as  never  blessed  a  kingdom.  Who 
could  resist  ?  I  promise  to  obey." 

[She  reads.]  "  We  of  thy  house  do  hereby  agree 
to  let  thee  go  a-journeying  again,  and  grant  thee  lib 
erty  to  be  gone  for  many  weeks  or  months,  as  seemeth 
to  thee  good,  —  provided,  that  of  all  lovely  sights,  of 
all  beautiful  things  and  places  that  thou  seest,  of  all 
strange  people  and  uncouth  objects,  of  all  happy  days 
and  farcical  conceits,  along  with  all  humorous  incidents 
and  mirthful  experiences,  thou  shalt  write  us  a  full  and 
faithful  account.  And  if  in  journeying  thou  meetest 
with  clever  folk,  with  men  and  women  gifted  with 
mother-wit  to  make  thee  laugh,  what  they  say  shall  be 
writ  down  for  us,  that  we  who  bide  here  while  thou 
farest  on  may  not  be  lonely,  but  share  with  thee  the 
profit  and  entertainment  thou  dost  meet  with.  So 
shall  this  journey  of  thine  be  a  happy  one  in  truth,  to 
all  of  us,  and  all  the  days  be  winged  until  we  meet 
again.  Dost  thou  promise  ?  " 

"  Ay,  ay,"  I  answered  briskly.  "  The  yoke  that 
Love  lays  on  us  is  easy  and  the  burden  light.  My  pen 
shall  keep  pace  with  my  feet.  For  your  delight  I 
will  be  tourist  and  scribbler  both.  You  shall  see  what 
I  see,  —  rivers  and  plains,  mountains  and  snowy  peaks, 
sunrises  and  sunsets,  with  all  their  glow,  and  starry 
nights,  the  works  of  men,  and  the  nobler  works  of 
God.  And  what  I  hear  to  stir  my  mirth  I  will  send 
you  fairly  written  out ;  so  shall  your  laughter  be  as 
echo  to  my  own.  And  now  the  stirrup-cup.  I  drain 
it  to  safe-keeping  of  the  house.  We'll  have  sweet 
meeting  after  many  days." 


"THOU    SHALT   WRITE    US.' 


DAYLIGHT    LAND. 


CHAPTER   I. 

THE   MEETING. 

Welcome,  old  friend !     A  hundred  thousand  welcomes. 


^HOU  art  the  man ! "  cried  a  voice 
behind  me,  as  I  stepped  out  of  the 
bathroom,  prepared  for  the  pleas 
ures  of  the  day  as  only  a  man  can 
be  by  a  bath,  —  "  thou  art  the  man, 
or  my  eyes  are  blind,  or  the  man 
that  trailed  that  dreadful  trail  of  the  Staked  Plains  with 
me  has  a  double." 

"  Judge  Doe  !  "  I  cried,  and  our  hands  met  like  a 
flash.  "  Not  a  man  on  the  earth  would  I  sooner  see  at 
this  minute  than  yourself.  This  magnificent  room  " — 
and  I  glanced  at  the  elegant  car  —  "  is  not  much  like 
the  spot  where  we  made  our  first  meeting."  And  I 
thought  of  that  barren  waste  of  sand  where  I  ran  across 
him,  without  guide  or  water,  as  he  wandered  half  blinded 


24 


INTRODUCTION. 


under  the  awful  heat.  "  Do  you  remember  the  can 
teen  I  gave  you,  and  how  you  swore  that  the  half  boil 
ing  water  in  it  was  as  cold  as  iced  sherbet  ?  "  And  I 
laughed  at  the  memory. 

"  And  so  it  was/'  returned  the  Judge  stoutly.     "  At 

least,  so  it 
seemed  at 
that  mo 
ment,  and 
of  one 
thing  I  am 
certain,  that 
that  drink 
from  your 
old  canteen 
saved  my 
life." 

"I  should 
n't  won 
der,"  I  re- 
----plied.  "For 
if  you  had 
not  had  it 

when  you  did  you  would  probably  have  been  wan 
dering  a  madman  over  the  sands  in  half  an  hour. 
But  a  fig  to  the  Staked  Plains  and  the  old  memories  ! 
We  are  here  in  this  car,  with  plenty  to  eat  and  drink ; 
and  so  tell  me,  where  are  you  going  ?  " 

"  I  am  going  home  to  the  Golden  Gate,"  he  replied, 
"  and  I  have  come  clean  up  from  Washington  to  take 
this  route.  I  wanted  to  escape  the  dust  and  the  heat 


THE  MEETING. 


25 


of  more  southern  ones,  the  al 
kali  plains,  and  the  hot  looking 
ochred  canons  and  the  Buttes, 
which  are  all  right  in  winter, 
but  which  in  midsummer  make 


me  feel,  as  the  train 
rolls  down  into  them,  as  if  I 
were  being  pushed  into  the 
mouth  of  an  oven.     An  old 
friend  told  me  in  Washington 

o 

that  I  could  reach  San  Fran 
cisco  this  way 
without  the 


26  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

alkali  dust,  the  infernal  heat,  and  the  glaring  red 
colors,  ride  four  hundred  miles  between  glaciers,  and 
see  such  scenery  as  I  never  saw  on  the  Continent,  and 
so  I  am  here.  But  where  are  you  going,  old  comrade 
of  hot  Texan  trails  and  arid  Arizona?  Are  you,  too, 
bound  for  the  Blessed  Isles  lying  under  the  sunset  ?  " 

"  Ay,  ay,"  I  returned  laughingly,  and  in  the  same 
light  strain  that  the  Judge  had  taken.  "  I  too  am  go 
ing  to  the  West ;  not  the  West  of  classic  fable,  but  of 
modern  fact.  I  go,  not  to  reach  home,  nor  escape  dust 
and  heat,  but  to  see  the  great  mountains  between  the 
prairies  and  the  sea.  I  met  John  Carrol  at  Parker's,  in 
Boston,  last  week,  —  you  remember  Carrol,  the  man  we 
met  among  the  Nevadas  that  summer  ?  —  and  he  told 
me  that  the  Canadian  scenery  was  beyond  description  ; 
that  I  could  ride  three  hundred  miles  along  glacial 
streams,  with  the  glaciers  from  which  they  flow  in 
full  sight,  with  hundreds  of  mountains,  that  have 
not  even  been  named,  rising  ten  thousand  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  track ;  and  knowing  him  to  be  care 
ful  of  statement,  I  packed  my  valise,  and  here  I 


am." 


"  Here  I  am,  too,  for  about  the  same  reason,"  said 
a  quiet  voice  behind  me,  and  a  hand  stole  slyly  into 
mine ;  and  looking  around,  there  was  Colonel  Goffe, 
or,  as  we  facetiously  called  him  during  the  journey, 
"  the  Man  from  New  Hampshire." 

"  You  see,"  he  continued,  after  I  had  presented  him 
to  the  Judge,  "  I  own  a  ranch  somewhere  among  the 
foot-hills  beyond  Calgary,  and  my  oldest  boy  is  making 
his  start  in  life  on  it.  He  has  been  out  there  two  years, 


THE  MEETING.  27 

and  I  thought  I  would  run  over  and  see  how  he  is  get 
ting  along.  He  is  to  meet  me  at  some  station  near  the 
ranch,  and  is  to  go  through  with  me  to  the  coast,  for 
he  wrote  that  he  did  not  wish  me  to  see  even  the  ranch 
until  I  had  seen  the  mountains,  the  glaciers,  and  the 
great  forests." 

How  delightful,  often,  are  the  surprises  of  travel ! 
To  think  that,  coming  from  different  parts  of  the  world, 
after  years  of  wandering,  without  knowledge  of  each 
other's  movements  or  purposes,  we  two,  who  had  parted 
years  before  in  Arizona,  should  meet  face  to  face  in 
this  palace  car,  travelling  for  almost  the  same  purpose, 
and  with  the  same  object  in  view,  and  that  we  old 
trailers,  who  had  so  often  bivouacked  together,  and 
shared  the  same  blanket,  should  have  slept  all  night 
within  a  few  feet  of  each  other,  not  knowing  !  Are 
the  meetings  of  life  accidental,  or  is  there  a  Power 
above  us  which  arranges  and  compels  the  meetings  and 
partings  of  our  lives  ? 

66  This  is  going  to  be  a  happy  journey,"  said  the 
Judge  pleasantly,  as  he  looked  at  the  passengers 
grouped  here  and  there.  "  I  can  see  it  in  their  faces. 
Bless  me,  how  fresh  the  ladies  look !  There  is  not  a 
tired  face  in  the  car." 

Dear  old  happy-hearted  Judge  !  I  wonder  if  the 
prophecies  of  men  are  not  born  of  their  moods,  after 
all  ?  For  with  all  thy  nice  taste  and  delicate  sense  of 
the  fit  and  the  needful,  never  did  I  meet  a  lighter  heart 
or  a  happier  disposition  than  thine. 

But  indeed  it  was  a  rare  company,  for  it  was  wholly 
composed  of  intelligent  and  refined  people,  accustomed 


28 


DAYLIGHT  LAND. 


to  travel,  and  travel-wise.  And  best  of  all,  we  were 
filled  with  curiosity  and  some  of  us  with  incredulity 
touching  the  wonders  it  had  been  foretold  us  we  should 
see,  —  such  marvels  and  majesties  of  nature  as  in  truth 
make  the  ride  from  Calgary  to  Vancouver  like  a  jour 
ney  through  fairy  and  giant  land. 

Thus,  with  old  friends  unexpectedly  met;  with  a 
throng  of  bright  and  courteous  people  around  us,  and 
feeling  that  we  were  a  "  goodly  companie  going  to 
seek  goodly  things,"  our  happy  journey,  as  the  dear 
old  Judge  had  prophetically  called  it,  began. 


CHAPTER  II. 

AT    BREAKFAST. 

A  feast  of  reason  and  a  flow  of  soul. 

AKE  another  cup  of  this  delicious 
coffee,  Judge/'  I  said  to  my  com 
panion  at  the  table.  We  are  travel 
ling  like  the  gods,  and  it  is  fit  that 
we  should  fare  like  the  gods. 

"  Your  conceit  is  a  happy  one,"  re 
plied  the  Judge,  as  he  inspected  his  cream.  "  This  is 
the  true  nectar  of  Olympus,  if  it  was  drawn  from  the 
udder  of  a  cow.  The  ancients  hit  it  exactly.  Their 
heaven  was  only  the  sublimating  of  the  earth.  Their 
goddesses  were  their  best-looking  women,  their  gods 
crowned  athletes,  and  their  Parnassus  nothing  but  an 


30 


DAYLIGHT  LAND. 


idealized  summit  of  a  hill  in  Attica.  We  moderns  sep 
arate  our  heaven  from  the  earth,  and  so  lose  the  beauti 
ful  sequence  of  the  divine  plan.  If  in  the  place  of  the 
ologians  we  had  the  old  sages  again,  our  children  would 
be  taught  the  sweet  lesson  that  the  heavenly  is  only 

the  earthly  in  bloom,  and  that 
angels  are  but  men  and  women 
who  have  been  educated  a  little 
higher  up  than  the  schooling 
of  this  life  carries  them." 

"  And  you  might  add,"  I 
suggested,  "that  this  manner 
of  travel  which  we  are  now  en 
joying  is  only  a  modern  method 
of  flying." 

"  Certainly,"  said  the  Judge, 
as  he  buttered  his  roll,  "  we 
are  flying.  Count  the  clicks," 

—  and  he  held  up  his  watch,  —  "  forty  in  twenty  sec 
onds  ;  that  gives  us  the  number  of  miles  to  the  hour. 
Forty  miles  an  hour  and  at  breakfast !  Could  an  angel 
keep  her  stroke  with  a  cup  of  coffee  in  her  hand? 
See !  the  liquid  does  n't  sway  in  the  cup.  I  wonder 
if  the  navvies  that  made  this  road-bed  appreciated  their 
work  ?  " 

"  The  passengers  do,  if  they  did  n't,"  I  responded, 
"  and  that  is  the  important  thing,  perhaps.  The  bee 
may  not  know  the  sweetness  of  its  own  honey  nor  the 
mathematical  perfection  of  its  cell.  But  the  man  gifted 
with  the  delicacy  of  taste  and  the  artistic  sense  appre 
ciates  both.  The  lower  order  does  the  work  and  the 


AT  BREAKFAST. 


31 


higher  one  gives  the  applause.     That  seems  to  be  the 
way  of  it." 

At  this  moment  we  went  roaring  over  a  bridge 
whose  mighty  span  stretched  in  majesty  a  hundred  feet 
above  the  mad  water  that  poured  whirling  downward 
below  us.  We  glanced  from  the  window  as  the  rum 
bling  gave  us  its  signal,  and  our  mind  received  this 
photographic  impression  :  A  mountain  to  the  right, 
mounded  like  a  loaf,  and  wooded  perfectly  from  base  to 
dome  ;  to  the  left  a  preci 
pice,  lifting  sheer  half  a 
thousand  feet  from  the  dark 
pool  lying  sullen  and  black 
in  its  shadow ;  through  this 
gorge  and  beyond,  in  the 
distance,  a  space  of  sky 
shone  like  a  mirror,  and  un 
der  us,  the  white  angry  wa 
ter,  —  a  picture  flashed  on 
us  in  a  second  and  indeli 
bly  impressed  on  the  mem 
ory  ;  a  picture  which  I  keep 
to  this  day,  and  shall  keep 
till  the  gallery  in  which 
it  hangs,  with  a  thousand 
other  perfect  ones,  crumbles  to  the  foundations. 

"  The  history  of  bridges  is  the  history  of  civilization," 
remarked  the  Judge.  "  Waiter,  this  steak  is  a  trifle 
underdone.  Tell  the  cook  to  give  it  a  brief  turn  on 
the  iron.  The  cooking  is  excellent  on  this  line,"  he 
remarked,  evidently  forgetting  what  he  was  going  to 


32  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

say  about  bridges,  "  but  it  is  not  up  to  the  level  of  the 
Hoffman  or  of  Young's  ;  not  quite  up/'  he  continued, 
as  if  he  would,  with  fine  judicial  sense,  discriminate  to 
a  nicety  between  degrees  of  excellence  in  a  matter  of 
such  supreme  importance. 

"  One  would  not  expect,  Judge,"  I  remarked,  "  to 
find  so  old  a  traveller  as  yourself  so  particular  touch 
ing  the  cooking  of  a  fillet." 

"  There  is  where  you  mistake,"  responded  the 
Judge.  "  He  who  travels  should  be  an  epicure,  for  his 
taste  must  be  cosmopolitan.  He  becomes  acquainted 
with  the  fruits  and  vegetables  of  every  zone,  the  fish 
of  all  seas,  and  the  meats  of  every  country.  He  ac 
quires  knowledge  not  only  of  the  habits  but  of  the 
beverages  of  all  peoples,  and  of  the  cuisine  of  each 
nation.  The  knowledge  of  what  he  should  have 
causes  him  to  insist  on  his  rights,  and  the  cook  who 
sends  me  an  underdone  steak  wrongs  me  as  wofully 
as  a  government  which  should  suppress  the  habeas 
corpus.  The  equities  of  the  stomach  should  not  be 
trifled  with,  sir." 

"  But  what  about  the  bridges  ?  "  I  inquired  laugh 
ingly,  "  for  I  must  confess  I  am  more  interested  in 
your  ideas  touching  bridges  than  I  am  touching 
steaks." 

"  I  am  not  responsible  for  your  obtuseness  in  non- 
discrimination  between  relative  values.  But  bridges 
are  a  hobby  with  me,"  retorted  the  Judge.  "  I  studied 
civil  engineering  before  I  did  law,  and  at  that  time  the 
great  bridges  of  the  world  had  not  been  built.  I  can 
remember  when  Stephenson  laid  the  foundation  of  his 


AT  BREAKFAST.  33 

fame  with  his  first  bridge,  and  the  poetry  of  his  great 
endeavors  impressed  me  profoundly.  For  a  bridge,  sir, 
is  a  poem  put  into  structure,  —  an  imagination  of  the 
mind  materialized.  It  stands  for  an  idea,  the  idea  of 
human  brotherhood  and  the  necessity  of  friendly  ex 
changes,  —  that  the  man  on  the  one  side  of  the  river 


cannot  get  along  without  help  from  the  man  on  the 
other  side." 

"  Who  built  the  first  bridge,  Judge  ?  "  inquired  the 
Man  from  New  Hampshire.  "  Who  built  the  first 
bridge?" 

"  It  was  n't  built,"  replied  the  Judge ;  "  it  was  a  gift 
of  nature  in  the  form  of  a  tree,  which  the  winds  over 
turned,  so  that  it  stretched  its  trunk  of  solid  wood 


34  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

from  bank  to  bank  of  the  stream,  or  from  edge  to  edge 
of  the  chasm,  —  a  bridge  for  the  panther  and  bear  as 
well  as  for  the  hunter,  over  the  buttresses  of  which 
leaves  waved,  and  vines  twined  their  foliage,  and  under 
which  the  torrent  thundered  and  whirled.  Man  never 
built  a  bridge  so  lovely  to  look  upon  as  those  I  have 
seen  in  the  woods,  wind-blown  to  their  places,  —  the 
wind-blown  bridge  of  the  forest." 

"  Bravo  !  bravo  ! "  I  exclaimed,  and  I  fluttered  the 
napkin  gallantly.  "  Bravo,  Judge  !  The  poetry  of 
the  theme  has  found  its  poet."  And  I  passed  him  a 
section  of  a  delicious  French  omelet. 

"A  reminiscence  of  Paris,"  remarked  the  Judge, 
smiling  as  he  received  it. 

66  More  substantial  than  the  pleasures  of  memory," 
added  the  New  Hampshire  man  quietly ;  and  he  told 
the  waiter  to  duplicate  the  Judge's  order. 

"  There  is  a  characteristic  among  you  New  Hamp 
shire  men  that  I  admire,"  remarked  the  Judge.  "  You 
know  a  good  thing  when  you  see  it,  and  you  see  it 
mighty  quick." 

"  I  see  an  omelet  mighty  quick  when  it 's  as  good  as 
yours,"  was  the  retort. 

"  The  gentlemen  are  out  of  order,"  I  exclaimed,  rap 
ping  on  the  table.  "The  question  before  the  house 
is  one  of  bridges." 

"  Bridge  number  two,"  said  the  Judge,  "  is  that  of 
the  settler :  two  ropes,  often  woven  from  roots,  with 
wooden  slats  intermediate.  Then  comes  the  bridge 
with  wooden  stringers,  planked  for  heavier  travel; 
then  the  long  enclosed  bridge.  Mounting  still  higher 


AT  BREAKFAST.  35 

in  the  rising  scale  is  Stephenson's  great  work,  the 
Victoria  Bridge,  old  style  now,  but  nevertheless  a  great 
achievement  in  engineering,  with  its  monstrous  abut 
ments  and  its  thirty  acres  of  painted  surface.  Rising 
still  higher,  we  come  to  the  Suspension  Bridge  at  Ni 
agara,  and  the  magnificent  cantilever  structure  of  this 


road  on  which  we  are  riding,  at  Lachine ;  and  crown 
ing  all,  the  great  Brooklyn  Bridge,  over  which  half  a 
million  human  beings  pass  each  day.  I  tell  you,  gen 
tlemen,"  exclaimed  the  Judge  earnestly,  "  the  history 
of  bridge-building,  from  that  wind-blown  tree-trunk  in 
the  woods  to  the  latest  achievement  in  engineering 
skill,  is  the  history  of  the  human  race  not  only  in 
material  progress,  but  in  the  apprehension  of  man's 
need  of  his  fellow-man  and  the  brotherhood  of  the 
race.  Every  achievement  of  man  is  communal.  Every 
embellishment  in  this  car  makes  companionship  more 
entertaining,  and  draws  us  closer  together  by  the  bond 
of  common  refinement."  And  the  Judge  proceeded 


36  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

to  call  our  attention,  with  critical  appreciation,  to  the 
carved,  the  bronzed,  and  the  enamelled  elegance  of  the 
car. 

"That  picture  reminds  me,"  said  the  New  Hamp 
shire  man,  pointing  to  one  of  the  embellishments,  a 
beautiful  bit  of  Japanese  enamelling,  —  "  of  a  little  bit 
of  personal  experience." 

"  Waiter,"  said  the  Judge,  "  bring  us  another  pot 
of  coffee  and  a  jug  of  cream.  Thank  heaven,"  he 
ejaculated,  "  that  I  have  lived  to  see  the  day  when  one 
railroad  management  is  so  intelligent  as  to  recognize 
the  fact  that  a  man  who  is  rich  enough  to  pay  ten 
dollars  a  day  to  travel  in  a  palace  car  is  accustomed  to 
have  real  cream  in  his  coffee.  Now,  Colonel,"  he 
continued,  after  he  had  poured  the  rich  cream  slowly 
in  his  cup  and  as  slowly  poured  the  hot  fragrant  coffee 
upon  it,  "  I  am  ready  for  your  story.  I  hope  it  will 
have  the  flavor  of  true  humor  in  it  as  this  coffee  has 
the  flavor  of  real  Java,"  and  he  sipped  the  delicious 
beverage  with  the  delicacy  of  one  gifted  to  enjoy  the 
good  things  of  this  world. 

"  Oh,  it  isn't  much  of  a  story,"  replied  the  Colonel 
pleasantly,  —  "  merely  a  little  incident."  And  he  filled 
his  own  cup  contentedly.  "  It  was  in  1868,  or  there 
abouts,"  quietly  continued  the  Colonel,  "  when  the 
Orient  began  to  pour  the  treasures  of  her  art  produc 
tions,  via  New  Jersey,  into  Boston,  where  alone  the 
culture  to  discriminate  between  the  false  and  the  true 
in  art  is  to  be  found,  you  know,  that  I  was  suddenly 
seized,  as  were  many  others,  with  the  '  Japanese  craze.' 
It  was  a  pretty  bad  attack,"  he  continued  reflectively, 


CARIBOU  ROAD  BRIDGE,  FRASER. 


AT   BREAKFAST. 


39 


—  "a  pretty  bad  attack.  The  papers  were  full  of  it. 
Everybody  was  talking  and  writing  about  Japanese 
art.  Now  when  I  buy  anything  I  want  it  to  be  first- 
class,  something  to  be  proud  of,  and  feeling  mistrust 
ful  of  my  own 
knowledge,  I  went 
to  one  of  the  lead 
ers  in  Boston  art 
circles,  and  begged 
him  to  give  me  the 
benefit  of  his  edu 
cated  taste.  He 
kindly  consented  to 
do  so,  and  advised 
me  to  allow  him  to 
purchase  a  Japa 
nese  screen,  as  that 
would  be  a  very 
beautiful  and  at 
tractive  addition  to 
the  furniture  of  my 

parlor.  I  gave  him  the  money  which  he  said  would  be 
needed  to  purchase  a  first-class  article.  It  was  a  pretty 
steep  sum  for  a  screen,  I  thought,  but  I  knew  I  could 
not  expect  to  get  a  real  gem  without  paying  for  it. 
Well,  the  gentleman,  after  several  days  of  labor  exclu 
sively  devoted,  as  he  assured  me,  to  visiting  the  vari 
ous  '  Eastern  Bazaars,'  during  which  he  exhausted  the 
focalizing  power  of  several  eyeglasses,  succeeded  in 
finding  what  he  was  after,  a  real,  genuine,  first-class 
specimen  of  Japanese  art,  and  the  huge  screen  was 


40  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

sent  down  to  my  office.  It  was  certainly  a  wonderful 
creation.  There  was  a  large-sized  Durham  cow  in  the 
centre  of  the  screen,  with  an  almond-eyed  milkmaid,  in 
a  very  low-necked  dress  and  high-heeled  French  shoes, 
milking  her.  The  right  eye  of  the  cow  was  fixed 
intently  on  the  right-hand  corner  of  the  screen,  while 
the  left  glared  straight  at  you.  One  eye  was  consider 
ably  larger  than  the  other,  and  of  a  different  color. 
I  naturally  concluded  that  this  was  a  characteristic 
of  Japanese  cows,  and  mentally  made  a  note  of  it  for 
use  if  I  should  ever  be  called  upon  to  discuss  the  pecu 
liarities  of  Oriental  art.  I  made  a  memorandum  also 
of  the  fact  that  there  was  only  half  of  the  cow's  tail 
in  the  picture,  but  as  the  artist  had  forgotten  to  paint 
in  a  fly  for  her  to  practice  at,  that  did  not  much  matter. 
To  the  front  and  at  the  left  of  the  cow  sat  a  Gordon 
setter,  about  half  the  size  of  the  cow  and  twice  as  tall 
as  the  girl.  The  picture  affected  me  so  strongly  that 
after  I  studied  it  closely,  got  a  photograph  of  it  on  my 
mind,  as  it  were,  I  quietly  shipped  it  up  to  my  farm 
in  New  Hampshire,  where  I  felt  there  would  be  room 
enough  for  it,  and  it  could  add  some  warmth  to  the 
landscape.  I  hoped  also  that  among  my  old  country 
neighbors  who  had  never  studied  high  art  in  Boston  it 
would  find  plenty  of  admirers,  be  a  kind  of  surprise, 
so  to  speak.  This  would  have  been  all  right  and  safe 
enough  if  my  housekeeper  had  been  a  woman  of  sense 
and  had  acted  with  any  judgment ;  but  while  cleaning 
the  house  one  day,  she  thoughtlessly  set  the  screen  out 
on  the  lawn,  and  a  series  of  terrible  results  followed. 
In  the  first  place,  a  herd  of  cows  that  a  neighbor  was 


AT  BREAKFAST.  41 

innocently  driving  along  the  street  caught  a  glimpse  of 
the  cow  on  the  screen  and  stampeded.  The  harmless 
old  man  was  knocked  down  and  seriously  injured,  while 
the  cows  never  stopped  running  until  they  got  into  the 
next  township,  where  they  were  impounded  as  vagrants, 
and  that  led  to  a  lawsuit  which  lasted  two  or  three 
years  and  impoverished  several  families.  Next  a  favor 
ite  dog  of  mine,  while  chasing  a  rabbit  up  the  road, 
saw  the  Gordon  setter  on  the  screen,  and  dropped  dead 
in  his  tracks.  Then  a  good,  honest,  faithful  girl  who 
did  the  milking  for  the  family  went  out  and  studied  the 
milkmaid  on  the  screen  for  several  minutes,  and  going 
back  into  the  house,  promptly  applied  for  her  wages  "  — 
"  That  will  do,  Colonel,"  interrupted  the  Judge,  ris 
ing,  "  that  will  do  for  your  first  one."  And  we  all 
started  for  the  smoking-room. 


CHAPTER  III. 

A    VERY    HOPEFUL    MAN. 

Hope  springs  eternal  in  the  human  breast. 

HE  ancients  dreamed  of  monstrous  be 
ings,  possessed  of  monstrous  power. 
The  Christian  Scriptures  tell  of  a  time 
when  there  were  giants  on  the  earth, 
and  the  sons  of  God  married  the 
daughters  of  men,  namely,  of  a  time 
when  the  supernal  forces  were  in  alliance  with  the 
natural,  and  the  hidden  energies  of  the  upper  rein 
forced  those  of  the  lower  sphere.  Mythology  is  full 
of  the  same  lofty  imaginings.  Creatures  of  gigan 
tic  size  are  projected  upon  her  canvas  :  Cyclops,  vast, 


A  VERY   HOPEFUL  MAN.  43 

abnormal  in  strength,  one-eyed  like  the  headlight  of 
our  engine.  Had  the  man  who  invented  the  Cyclops 
invented  an  engine  also,  I  wonder  ?  Certainly,  an  old- 
fashioned  Cyclops  would  seem  no  more  grotesque  or 
appalling  to  modern  scholars  than  a  Mogul  engine  to 
a  native  on  the  banks  of  the  Ambesi  or  the  shores  of 
the  Nyanza.  Then  there  was  Vulcan,  that  mighty 
armorer  for  the  gods ;  and  Atlas,  on  whose  broad 
shoulders  rested  the  world ;  and  Minerva,  flashing 
courier  of  the  Empyrean  ;  and  later  on  came  Thor 
with  his  hammer,  pulverizer  of  mountains,  and  the 
whole  body  of  folk-lore  threaded  through  and  through 
with  the  puissance  of  dwarf  and  gnome,  of  fairy  and 
sprite.  All  these  and  other  fashionings  of  the  human 
mind,  purely  fanciful  or  semi-real,  have  come  down  to 
us  from  that  murmuring  past  of  which  nothing  re 
mains  save  its  murmurings,  all  suggestive  of  measure 
less  energies,  gigantic  forms,  and  mighty  forces.  The 
old-time  world  at  least  dreamed  of  almost  infinite  power 
and  the  works  of  it,  in  connection  with  human  forms, 
or  forms  suggested  by  the  human." 

Something  like  this  was  said  by  a  scholarly-looking 
man,  who  stood  with  the  rest  of  us  on  the  platform  of 
the  rear  car  of  the  train,  as  it  whirled  round  the  cliff 
which  brought  us  in  sight  of  the  blue  waters  of  Lake 
Superior,  as  they  sparkled  and  flashed  brightly  under 
the  light  of  the  morning.  He  who  has  rolled  for  fifty 
miles  along  the  shore  of  this  majestic  body  of  inland 
water,  who  has  seen  the  summer  sky  arching  the  blue 
dome  above  it,  its  forest-covered  islands,  the  hundreds 
of  islets  that  dot  its  surface,  its  curving  beaches  of 


44  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

brown  and  yellow  sand,  its  deep,  secluded  bays  and 
rocky  promontories,  has  looked  upon  one  of  the  most 
entertaining  and  charming  pictures  of  the  continent, 
—  a  picture  which  delights  the  beholder  as  he  gazes, 
and  remains  fixed,  with  all  its  changeful  colors,  in  his 
memory  ever  after. 

"  What  the  ancients  dreamed,"  remarked  the  Judge, 
referring  to  what  the  scholarly-looking  man  had  said, 
"  we  moderns  see  realized.  Our  telegraph  is  swifter 
than  Minerva  ;  and  that  common  laborer,  who  is  guard 
ing  that  bridge  yonder,  can  for  a  shilling  send  a  mes 
sage  faster  than  they  ever  dreamed  Jupiter  could  do  it. 
Atlas  is  no  longer  a  myth.  We  to-day  know  the 
power  that  holds  up  the  world  :  it  is  the  same  that 
keeps  this  car  on  the  track  —  gravitation.  Cyclops  is 
no  longer  a  terror.  He  is  ahead  of  us,  and  our  engi 
neer  has  him  in  perfect  control.  Thor  is  our  servant, 
and  he  pulverizes  mountains  at  so  much  a  cubic  foot ; 
while  the  gnome  that  bored  its  way  through  this  spur 
of  quartz,  tunnelling  it  for  our  passage,  is  the  diamond 
drill."  And  as  the  Judge  concluded  the  sentence,  we 
all  retired  into  the  car,  to  escape  the  smoke  and  the 
cinders. 

"  It  seems  to  me,"  continued  the  scholarly-looking 
man,  after  we  were  seated,  "  that  the  thinkers  of  the 
world  get  more  credit  than  they  should,  as  compared 
with  the  doers.  My  life  has  been  spent  in  the  pur 
suit  of  letters,"  he  continued,  "  and  my  thoughts  have 
been  favored  with  a  kindly  reception  by  the  world ;  my 
writings  have  brought  me  both  money  and  fame.  But 
as  I  have  seen  the  excavations  along  this  line ;  as  I 


A  VERY   HOPEFUL  MAN.  47 

have  been  rolled  over  its  bridges,  and  noted  that  the 
fairy-like  iron  structure  beneath  me  gave  no  tremor ; 
as  I  have  seen  that  the  solid  sides  of  cliffs  had  been 
cut  out  for  our  path  as  if  they  were  made  of  chalk, 
I  have  felt  that  the  words,  and  even  the  thoughts,  of 
men,  however  eloquently  expressed,  were  as  nothing 
when  compared  with  their  deeds.  I  know  not  who 
built  this  road,  whose  imagination  audaciously  con 
ceived  it,  or  whose  courage  constructed  it ;  but  who 
ever  did  do  it  has  in  it  erected  an  imperishable  monu 
ment." 

"  It  is  indeed  a  magnificent  result,"  said  a  gentle 
man,  an  old,  gray-headed  engineer  from  Nebraska,  who 
surveyed  the  route  for  the  Union  Pacific,  and  made  for 
himself  a  name  in  that  and  other  trans-continental 
enterprises,  —  "a  magnificent  work  indeed."  And  he 
gazed  thoughtfully  through  the  open  door  at  the  level 
road-bed  and  gleaming  rails.  "  It  cost  not  only  mil 
lions  of  money,  but  human  lives  as  well,"  he  continued. 
"  On  this  very  section,  within  a  space  of  twenty  miles, 
over  two  millions  of  dollars'  worth  of  dynamite  was 
used,  and  some  men,  I  am  told,  were  wounded  or 
blown  to  pieces." 

"  Dreadful !  "  exclaimed  the  scholarly-looking  man. 
"  What  more  horrible  death  could  a  man  die  ?  " 

"  I  do  not  regard  death  by  dynamite  as  the  worst  of 
accidents,"  said  a  voice. 

"The  devil!"  exclaimed  the  Judge.  "What's 
that,  sir  ?  "  and  every  eye  in  the  compartment  was  sud 
denly  fixed  upon  the  man. 

He  was  not  a  large  man,  he  was  even  a  small  one> 


48  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

and  there  was  nothing  fierce  or  reckless  in  his  appear 
ance,  nor  would  one  pick  him  out  as  a  man  specially 
endowed  with  courage,  or  even  gifted  with  extraordi 
nary  persistence.  He  was  not  a  man  of  full  habit,  but 
spare  in  flesh.  His  complexion  was  sallow  and  leath 
ery.  He  had  large  gray  eyes,  weakly  prominent,  and 


somewhat  faded.  His  hair  was  thin,  not  positive  in 
color,  and  his  neck  had  but  little  base  to  it.  Not 
one  of  us  had  even  noticed  him  before.  Indeed,  we 
might  have  ridden  with  him  for  days,  and  not  one  of 
us  would  have  noticed  him,  had  he  not  given  utter 
ance  to  such  a  horrible  sentiment,  an  expression  which 
sounded  all  the  more  horrible  because  of  the  mildness 
of  the  tone  which  accompanied  it. 

"  I  said,"  repeated  the  little  man,  looking  benevo 
lently  at  the  Judge,  —  "I  said  I  did  not  regard  death 
by  dynamite  as  the  worst  of  accidents." 


A  VERY  HOPEFUL  MAN.  49 

The  Judge  glared  at  the  little  man  for  a  moment 
through  his  eyeglasses.  He  removed  the  glasses  from 
his  nose,  wiped  them  carefully,  and  replacing  them, 
took  another  savage  look  at  the  man,  who  sat  quietly 
in  the  corner. 

"  Gad,  sir  !  "  he  exclaimed,  at  length.  "  /  can't  con 
ceive  a  worse  death  than  being  blown  to  pieces,  quick 
as  a  flash,  without  any  warning,  —  think  of  it,  sir,  — 
by  dynamite ! " 

"  No  doubt,"  returned  the  little  man,  mildly,  "  such 
a  death  is  somewhat  sudden,  and,  physically  considered, 
is  liable  to  make  a  total  wreck  of  a  man.  The  con 
ductor  told  me  a  few  minutes  ago  that  one  of  the 
gentlemen  who  was  dynamited  was  actually  distributed 
—  that 's  the  word,  as  I  recall  it,  that  he  used  —  so 
much  so  that  there  was  never  anything  found  of  him, 
only  a  thumb  or  some  such  thing ;  not  enough,  it  was 
decided  by  the  authorities,  to  make  a  funeral  of.  Never 
theless,  I  still  respectfully  maintain  that  worse  things 
can  happen  to  a  man  than  death  by  dynamite." 

I  will  confess  that  I  was  never  more  shocked  in  my 
life  than  at  the  horrible  account  which  the  little  man 
in  the  corner  had  given  of  one  of  the  sad  accidents 
which  had  occurred  during  the  building  of  the  road, 
and  it  was  made  all  the  more  horrible  from  his  manner 
of  telling  it ;  for  he  had  told  the  dreadful  tale  in  the 
calmest  and  most  placid  of  tones,  his  mild,  large  gray 
eyes  fixed  calmly  on  the  face  of  the  Judge,  and  with 
out  the  least  movement  whatever  of  any  feature  of  his 
face.  I  think  I  may  safely  say  that  every  other  gentle 
man  of  the  party  felt  in  the  same  way,  and  that  the 


50  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

eyes  of  all  of  us  were  directed  upon  him  in  amazement, 
not  to  say  indignation. 

"  What  could  a  man  meet  that  would  be  more  dread 
ful?"  exclaimed  the  Judge,  excitedly,  and  he  glared 
at  the  inoffensive  stranger  through  his  eyeglasses  as  if 
he  would  perforate  him. 

The  stranger  never  winced  under  the  stare  of  the 
Judge.  He  did  not  even  appear  nettled  in  the  least, 
for  his  eyes,  without  a  shade  of  change  in  their  expres 
sion,  fixed  their  gaze  placidly  upon  him,  level  with  his 
own. 

"  We  judge  of  these  things  probably  from  the  stand 
point  of  experience,"  he  mildly  remarked,  "  and  I  have 
personally  experienced  many  things  worse  than  dyna 
mite." 

66  We  should  be  pleased,  sir,  to  hear  of  your  expe 
riences,"  sneeringly  remarked  the  Judge,  and  his  look 
was  one  calculated  to  burst  his  eyeglasses  from  their 
frames. 

"  It  is  not  worth  your  attention,  gentlemen,"  he 
replied  pleasantly,  bowing.  "  It  is  not  worth  your 
attention,  I  am  quite  sure,  for  I  have  in  one  sense  had 
nothing  remarkable  happen  to  me,  and  I  will  detain 
you  but  a  moment,  and  that  because  you  pleasantly  in 
sist  upon  it,"  —  a  hit  which  must  have  made  the  Judge 
wince.  And  resuming,  he  gave  us  the  following  vindi 
cation  of  his  judgment :  — 

"  I  have  been  shipwrecked,  been  baked  in  a  railroad 
accident,  and  fired  out  of  a  foundry  window  by  a  boiler 
explosion.  I  was  shot  in  the  neck  at  Gettysburg,  suf 
fered  starvation  in  Libby  Prison,  fell  overboard  from  a 


A  VERY   HOPEFUL  MAN.  51 

transport  off  Charleston,  and  left  four  of  my  fingers 
in  the  mouth  of  a  shark.  I  had  my  right  arm  broken 
in  two  places  in  a  New  York  riot,  and  stood  on  a  bar 
rel  with  a  halter  round  my  neck  in  a  Southern  town,  at 
the  outbreak  of  the  great  Rebellion,  from  sunrise  to 
sunset.  I  was  buried  under  the  ruins  of  a  building  in 
San  Francisco  during  an  earthquake,  and  dug  out  after 
fifty  hours  of  imprisonment.  I  have  been  shot  at  three 
times,  twice  by  lunatics  and  once  by  a  highwayman. 
I  was  buried  two  days  by  a  gas  explosion  in  a  mine, 
and  narrowly  escaped  lynching  last  year  in  Arizona 
through  mistaken  identity.  And  though  I  am  over 
fifty,  and  have  nearly  lost  the  use  of  my  right  leg; 
have  just  had,  as  I  understand,  all  my  property,  on 
which  there  was  no  insurance,  destroyed  by  fire  in  a 
Western  town ;  and  the  doctor  in  New  York  to  whom 
I  went  last  week  for  an  examination  assures  me  that  I 
will  soon  be  bedridden  from  rheumatism,  nevertheless," 
he  added  cheerfully,  "  while  I  undoubtedly  have  met 
some  obstacles  in  the  past,  I  still  refuse  to  believe  that 
luck  is  against  me." 

It  was  not  a  question  of  propriety  —  none  of  us 
thought  of  that.  Had  we  done  so  our  action  might 
have  been  different.  But  at  the  conclusion  of  the 
little  man's  narration  of  his  experiences,  of  the  his 
tory  of  his  life,  there  went  up  a  roar  of  laughter 
that  might  have  lifted  the  truck  from  the  rails.  In 
deed,  it  broke  up  the  party.  One  after  another,  we 
went  forward  to  the  main  compartment  of  the  car,  and 
took  our  usual  seats.  Several  of  the  gentlemen  appar 
ently  began  to  read,  but  I  noticed  that  they  held  their 


52 


DAYLIGHT  LAND. 


papers  as  if  they  were  near-sighted,  and  that  the 
papers  shook  till  they  rattled.  The  Judge  sat  directly 
ahead  of  me.  In  one  hand  he  held  his  eyeglasses,  and 
with  the  other  he  wiped  his  eyes  with  his  handkerchief. 
At  last  he  turned  halfway  round  in  his  chair,  and 
bending  toward  me,  while  his  face  was  convulsed  and 
the  water  stood  in  his  eyes,  said,  — 

"  Dynamite  !     Gad  !    dynamite   is  n't  so  bad,  after 
all!" 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE    BIG    NEPIGON    TROUT. 

We  may  say  of  angling  as  Dr.  Boteler  said  of  strawberries:  "Doubtless 
God  could  have  made  a  better  berry,  but  doubtless  God  never  did. ' '  And  so, 
if  I  might  judge,  God  never  did  make  a  more  calm,  quiet,  innocent  recreation 
than  angling.  ISAAK  WALTON. 

'IVILIZATION  means  luxury/'  said  the 
Judge  sententiously,  as  he  looked  com 
placently  over  the  dinner-table,  with 
its  snowy  linen,  its  delicate  china,  its 
burnished  plate,  its  cut-glass  ware, 
and  its  vase  of  woodland  flowers.  "  It 
is  that  fine  arrangement  by  which  matter  is  made  to 
minister  to  mind,  the  lower  compelled  to  assist  the 
higher.  The  provision  made  for  travel  is  the  best 
measure  of  American  progress." 

"  Analyze  the  matter,  Judge,"  I   said,  as  I  passed 


54  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

him  the  menu.  "  Analyze  the  matter,  and  tell  us 
what  civilization  has  to  do  with  you  and  me  at  this  mo 
ment." 

66  Bouillon,"  said  the  Judge  to  the  waiter. 

"  Mock-turtle/'  I  added. 


"  Mock-turtle  is  too  heavy  for  summer/'  said  the 
Judge  peremptorily  to  me.  "  Like  the  majority  of 
Americans,  you  have  lived  in  spite  of  yourself.  You 
have  the  senses  of  a  Greek  and  the  appetite  of  a  bar 
barian.  The  man  who  eats  mock-turtle  soup  in  sum 
mer  is  a  proof  that  the  principle  of  divine  preservation 
is  still  active." 


THE   BIG  NEPIGON   TROUT.  55 

"There's  nothing  to  bouillon/'  I  retorted.  "It's 
only  water  with  a  hint  of  a  flavor  in  it,  and  the  hint 
is  n't  always  very  plain,  either." 

"  That 's  the  beauty  of  it,"  returned  the  Judge. 
"  That 's  the  beauty  of  it/'  he  exclaimed,  as  he  fixed  a 
dainty  boutonniere  of  choice  flowers  stolen  from  the 
vase  to  the  lapel  of  his  coat.  "  The  civilized  man  ab 
hors  grossness.  The  barbarian  feeds  at  a  trough.  Edu 
cate  him,  and  he  erects  a  table.  Knife  and  fork  replace 
his  fingers,  and  as  you  refine  him  the  number  of  his 
dishes  increases,  adornments  multiply,  until  at  last  he 
is  lifted  to  that  level  upon  which  you  and  I  live,  where 
the  nose  and  the  eye  eat  with  the  mouth,  and  the  fur 
niture  of  the  table,  in  the  elegance  of  its  appointments, 
magnifies  the  feast." 

By  this  time,  the  soup  had  been  brought,  and  for 
a  moment  the  conversation  ceased.  We  were  running 
between  some  lofty  hills.  Here  and  there  we  passed  a 
small  clearing,  with  its  little  log-house  in  the  centre. 
Each  narrow  field  was  a  mass  of  woodland  flowers, 
scarlet,  purple,  and  white,  standing  as  if  planted  in  sep 
arate  beds,  characterizing  the  field  with  color.  The 
cabins  here  and  there  were  covered  with  clambering 
vines,  and  on  their  sodden  roofs  the  birds  and  winds, 
those  planters  of  the  air,  had  sown  the  seeds  for  flow 
ering,  fruitful  growth.  Outside,  the  world  was  warm 
and  odorous.  The  wild-flowers  sweetened  it,  and  the 
wind  which  blew  the  scented  air  through  our  open  win 
dows  and  into  our  nostrils  brought  from  the  lofty  hills 
wild,  gamy  scents,  and  pungencies  of  fir  and  pine. 

The  Judge  sipped  his  bouillon  delicately,  as  if  every 


56  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

drop  were  a  separate  ministration  to  his  palate.  His 
eyes  contemplated  with  pleased  satisfaction,  not  only 
the  glorious  color  of  the  flowers,  the  green  of  the  hills, 
and  the  blue  sky,  but  also  the  amber-tinted  liquid  in 
his  spoon ;  while  his  nostrils  expanded  as  if  they 
would  inhale  more  abundantly  the  perfume  that  drifted 
through  the  window.  It  was  impossible  not  to  see 
in  him  the  incarnation  of  refined  physical  enjoyment, 
a  man  who  honored  his  appetite  by  gratifying  it,  but 
who  gratified  it  in  a  manner  so  delicate  that  he  not 
only  redeemed  it  from  the  least  appearance  of  gross- 
ness,  but  made  its  gratification  the  means  for  the  dis 
play  of  his  virtues. 

"  I  have  travelled,"  remarked  the  Judge  reflectively, 
"  in  most  of  the  countries  of  the  world.  I  have  suf 
fered  in  the  tropics  from  heat,  and  in  the  Arctic  re 
gions  from  cold.  For  the  sake  of  seeing  a  few  old 
ruins,  mostly  buried  in  sand,  I  have  borne  the  agony 
of  prolonged  thirst  on  the  Desert,  and  that  I  might  go 
a  little  farther  than  some  one  else  up  some  river  or 
over  some  mountain,  I  have  inflicted  upon  my  body  the 
pangs  which  precede  starvation.  But  I  have  come  to 
that  period  of  life  in  which  man  ceases  to  be  an  impul 
sive,  and  becomes  a  reasoning,  animal.  And  while  the 
spirit  of  the  tourist  is  in  me  as  strongly  as  ever,  I  nev 
ertheless  insist  that,  in  return  for  my  money,  civilization 
shall  give  me,  as  I  journey,  three  things :  safety,  com 
fort,  luxury.  If  it  will  give  me  these,  —  and  I  assure 
you  thousands  feel  as  I  do  upon  the  subject,  —  I  will 
give  my  money,  and  go  and  see  what  it  has  that  is  new 
to  show  me.  If  not,  I  will  stay  at  home." 


f 


FRASER   CANON,   ABOVE    SPUZZUM 


THE  BIG  NEPIGON  TROUT.  59 

I  must  confess  that  I  was  impressed  with  the  conclu 
sion  that  the  Judge  had  reached,  the  more  so,  perhaps, 
because  it  was  the  first  time  I  had  ever  heard  it  so 
clearly  formulated  ;  and  I  presume  my  face  manifested 
the  interest  which  I  felt  in  his  line  of  remark,  for  after 
he  had  tasted  of  each  of  the  vegetables  before  him,  as 
a  lady  might  examine  several  samples  of  lace,  and 
deftly  prepared  the  fish  for  its  dressing,  he  resumed  :  — 

"  I  am  an  illustration  of  my  theory,  sir.  I  have 
crossed  the  continent  twenty  times,  I  presume.  I  have 
traveled  on  every  other  line  repeatedly,  but  I  had  never 
seen  the  prairie  lands  west  of  Winnipeg,  which  an  old 
friend  who  came  over  this  route  last  summer  wrote  me 
6  were  as  beautiful  as  the  valley  of  the  Platte,  and  as 
lovely  as  the  Laramie  plains  —  the  most  beautiful 
stretch  of  prairie  land  in  the  world,'  he  said.  And 
from  the  Black  Canon  of  the  Fraser  River  he  wrote  me 
eight  pages  describing  it.  He  is  nearly  seventy  years 
old,  bear  in  mind ;  —  eight  pages  of  description  —  an 
old  forty-niner  at  that  —  that  was  simply  wild,  sir, 
wild  and  extravagant  as  the  description  of  a  boy ;  and 
it  is  because  of  those  letters  from  my  old  friend  con 
cerning  these  Canadian  prairies  we  shall  see  to-morrow, 
and  the  four  hundred  miles  of  mountain  scenery  lying 
west  of  the  prairies,  that  I  undertook  the  journey. 
But,  sir,"  he  added,  with  emphasis,  "I  would  never 
have  undertaken  it  unless  I  had  ascertained  that  I  could 
travel  with  safety  and  with  comfort,  and  be  provided, 
as  I  journeyed,  with  certain  luxuries." 

"  Nevertheless,  Judge,"  I  remarked,  "  the  loveliness 
and  majesties  of  nature  are  a  compensation  for  occa 
sional  deprivations,  are  they  not  ?  " 


60  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

"  Within  certain  limitations,  I  should  agree  with 
you/'  he  replied.  "  But  for  myself,  the  amber  of  my 
bouillon  assists  me  to  appreciate  more  perfectly  the 
flowers  blooming  in  that  little  clearing.  The  taste  of 
this  salmon  in  my  mouth  makes  that  stretch  of  water 
yonder  seem  more  charming ;  and  I  am  confident  that 
the  ice-cream,  the  nuts,  and  the  coffee  which  I  see  are 
provided  for  our  dessert  will  give  to  the  sky  a  bluer 
tint,  and  add  softness  to  the  fleece  of  yonder  clouds." 

Thus  the  conversation  flowed  on,  while  the  train 
glided  along  past  the  beaches  of  the  bays  that  set 
deeply  into  the  mountains  which  characterize,  with  their 
massive  formations,  the  northern  shore  of  Lake  Supe 
rior.  The  Judge  was  in  his  best  mood,  and  talked  as 
only  one  who  has  seen  much  of  the  world,  its  peoples, 
and  its  ways  can  talk.  Each  course  was  duly  honored, 
as  if  it  were  the  only  one  to  be  enjoyed,  and  the  "  table 
hour,"  as  the  Judge,  with  a  pleasant  conceit,  named  it, 
was  the  one  so  utilized  that  while  it  ministered  most 
fully  to  the  wants  of  the  body,  it  contributed  beyond 
any  other  to  the  pleasures  of  the  mind. 

"  Hello  !  "  I  exclaimed,  as  I  glanced  at  the  time-table, 
which,  in  the  form  of  an  illustrated  itinerary,  lay  on 
the  table.  "  We  must  be  nearing  the  Nepigon." 

"  The  Nepigon  !  "  exclaimed  the  Judge,  with  the  ar 
dor  of  a  sportsman.  "  More  monstrous  trout  have  been 
caught  in  the  Nepigon  than  in  any  other  river  on  the 
continent.  I  have  friends  who  firmly  believe  that  it 
is  one  of  the  four  sacred  rivers  that  flowed  out  of 
Paradise." 

"  I  think  I  would  agree  with  them,"  I  laughingly 


THE   BIG   NEPIGON  TROUT.  61 

returned,  "  if  they  would  make  their  Paradise  include 
not  only  the  river,  but  the  lake  in  which  it  heads. 
For  if  Lake  Nepigon  was  not  in  Paradise,  it  was  a 
great  loss  for  Paradise."  And  as  I  spoke,  the  train 
struck  the  bridge  which  stretches  across  the  noble  and 
noted  river,  and  as  it  was  gliding  smoothly  on  it  slowed, 
and  suddenly  stopped. 

"Oh!  oh!  oh!" 

«  See,  Tom  !  Look  !  " 

"  Jones,  where  are  you  ?  " 

"  Fo'  de  Lawd,  Mars'  Judge  !  "  exclaimed  the  waiter. 
"  You  two  gem'men  git  to  de  hind  end  ob  de  kyar,  ef 
you  wants  ter  see  what  's  gwine  on  down  dar  in  dat 
ribber  !  " 

The  excitement  wras  contagious,  for  the  car  was  full 
of  shouts,  cheers,  and  exclamations.  The  Judge 
rushed  down  the  aisle  to  the  rear  of  the  car  — 

"  Great  heavens  !  "  he  exclaimed,  as  he  reached  the 
platform.  "  Look  at  that !  " 

A  hundred  feet  below  us  flowed  the  noble  current, 
a  deep,  wide,  strong-moving  mass  of  water.  Here  and 
there  an  eddy  marked  it  with  its  huge  circumference. 
But  in  the  main  it  moved  downward  toward  the  great 
lake,  shining  in  full  view,  as  a  river  flows  between  wid 
ened  banks  and  with  plenty  of  room.  In  the  middle 
of  the  river  nearly  under  us  was  a  canoe  with  an  Indian 
at  either  end,  and  a  man  in  a  velveteen  jacket  standing 
in  the  centre.  In  his  hands  was  a  rod,  and  the  tip 
of  the  rod  was  doubled  backward  nigh  to  the  reel,  the 
ringing  whir  of  which  filled  the  air.  His  pose  was  that 
of  an  angler  who  had  struck  a  fish  —  a  big  fish,  a  fish 


62  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

that  is  fighting  him  gamely  and  stubbornly,  and  which 
he  is  resisting  with  the  cool,  determined  skill  of  a  vet 
eran  of  the  rod. 

"  What  a  picture  !  "  exclaimed  the  Judge.  "  Gad  ! 
what  a  picture  !  " 

Well  might  he  exclaim,  "  What  a  picture  !  "  The 
wide  river ;  the  island-studded  lake,  into  which  it 
emptied  ;  the  lofty  banks  ;  the  great  dome  of  blue  sky 
above ;  high  over  the  stream,  as  if  hung  in  mid-air,  the 
long  train,  every  window  filled  with  heads,  every  plat 
form  crowded  with  forms,  the  engineer,  an  angler  him 
self,  hanging  out  of  the  cab,  swinging  his  hat ;  below, 
the  canoe,  the  ochred  Indians,  the  bent  body  of  the 
angler,  the  swaying,  quivering,  doubled-up  rod,  —  what 
a  picture ! 

Suddenly,  we  who  were  looking  saw  the  rod 
straighten.  Some  of  us  knew  what  it  meant.  The 
Judge  clinched  my  arm,  and  in  an  instant  out  of  the 
water  came  the  trout,  mouth  open,  fins  extended,  tail 
spread. 

"  Jerusalem  !  "  screamed  the  Judge.  "  He  's  a 
twenty-pounder  ! " 

Dear  old  Judge,  thou  hadst  the  true  angler's  eye  — 
that  eye  which  enlarges  and  multiplies  by  a  happy 
trick  of  vision,  not  merely  the  size  of  the  fish,  but  the 
enjoyment  of  the  soul.  Ay,  ay,  it  was  a  twenty- 
pounder  to  both  of  us  old  sports  for  the  instant,  and  if 
the  envious  scales  did  shrink  the  noble  form  to  shorter 
and  thinner  proportions,  it  could  not  rob  us  of  the 
ecstasy  of  our  first  estimate,  thank  heaven  ! 

And  the  fight  that  followed  —  what  words  may  set 


"JERUSALEM!     HE'S    A   TWENTY-POUNDER  !" 


THE  BIG  NEPIGON  TROUT.  65 

it  forth  ?  0  anglers,  shut  your  eyes,  and  see  and  hear 
it  from  behind  your  closed  lids.  Call  memory  to  your 
aid  —  the  memory  of  the  sternest  fight  you  ever  fought, 
of  the  swiftest  torrent,  of  the  wildest  pool,  of  that  fa 
vorite  rod  smashed  to  splinters,  of  paddle  broken,  of  the 
"  biggest  fish  that  ever  swam  "  lost  or  won.  Stop,  I 
say,  and  from  behind  closed  lids  see  all  this,  and  you 
will  see  what  we  saw  under  the  great  bridge  over  the 
Nepigon  on  that  bright  June  day. 

Whoever  the  Man  in  the  Velveteen  Jacket  might  be, 
he  was  of  the  right  sort,  an  angler  of  whom  anglers 
need  never  be  ashamed ;  for  as  he  fought  that  fish  he 
gave  us  such  an  exhibition  of  angler's  fence  as  ranked 
him  one  of  the  best  that  ever  fingered  reel.  An  eight- 
ounce  rod  against  an  eight-pound  fish,  a  strong,  deep 
current,  and  a  Nepigon  canoe :  grant  anglers  such 
conditions,  and  how  many  shall  make  a  winning  fight  ? 

Twice  the  huge  fish  broke  water,  and  twice  the  long 
train  cheered  him  to  the  echo.  The  Judge  was  wild. 
Each  time  the  fish  broke  the  surface,  he  fairly  jumped. 
He  leaned  far  over  the  rail.  He  swung  his  hat,  and 
when  the  monstrous  trout  broke  the  surface  the  second 
time,  he  yelled, — 

"  Save  him,  save  him,  and  I'll  nominate  you  for  the 
Presidency  ! " 

Once  the  great  fish  for  an  instant  burst  through  his 
opponent's  guard.  Once  I  must  confess  my  heart  sank 
within  me,  as  a  stone  sinks  to  the  bottom  of  a  well. 
When  he  was  a  hundred  feet  from  the  canoe,  the  rod 
nearly  tip  and  butt,  and  the  silk  line  stretched  through 
the  air  like  a  wire,  the  fish  doubled  and  lanced  back- 


66  DAYLIGHT   LAND. 

ward  like  a  flash.  We  saw  his  wake,  —  that  sharpened 
wedge  of  water  which  anglers  dread,  —  and  as  he  went 
under  the  canoe,  and  in  the  stillness  that  had  come  to  us 
we  heard  the  line  rattle  on  the  bark,  a  groan  escaped 
the  Judge.  He  rolled  his  eyes  upward,  and  roared  as 
if  stricken  with  pain,  — 

"  Great  Scott !  he  's  lost  him  !  " 

But  the  fish  was  not  lost.  The  angler  recovered  his 
advantage,  and  fought  the  fight  to  the  end,  skilfully 
and  coolly.  The  fish  was  deftly  gaffed  by  one  of  the 
Indians,  and  quickly  lay  on  the  bottom  of  the  canoe. 
The  Indians  seized  their  paddles,  and  the  light  craft 
glanced  toward  the  western  bank,  the  man  un jointing 
his  rod  as  the  boat  shot  along,  and  in  a  moment  they 
came  panting  up  the  embankment  with  a  huge  hamper 
in  their  hands,  in  which,  amid  flowers  and  grasses,  lay 
six  other  trout,  nearly  as  large  as  the  one  we  had  seen 
captured. 

Seldom  is  such  a  reception  granted  to  a  mortal  as 
was  given  to  the  Man  in  the  Velveteen  Jacket.  The 
engineer  cheered  and  swung  his  hat ;  the  fireman, 
sooted  and  begrimed,  capered  and  danced  on  the  coal- 
box  like  an  electrified  imp  ;  the  passengers  yelled  ;  the 
ladies  fluttered  their  handkerchiefs ;  while  we  anglers 
of  the  party  fairly  took  him  in  our  arms  and  lifted  him 
on  to  the  platform,  where  the  Judge  enfolded  him  in 
an  embrace  which  the  stranger  will  never  forget,  —  a 
hug  such  as  an  old  angler  gives  a  younger  one  to 
whom  he  is  indebted  for  an  exhibition  of  skill  which 
has  brought  back  to  his  memory  all  his  own  former 
victories,  and  proved  to  his  anxious  soul  that  the  gentle 
art  is  not  being  neglected. 


THE  BIG   NEPIGON   TROUT. 


67 


Never  fear,  never  fear,  dear  old  Judge,  that  the  art 
of  all  arts  will  be  lost,  or  the  skill  of  trained  finger  and 
eye  be  forgotten.  We  shall  pass  ;  but  still  the  streams 
will  flow  on,  the  pools  will  go  round,  and  the  trout 
love  the  coolness  of  springs  and  the  rush  of  swift 
waters.  The  boys  will  grow  up  like  their  sires,  loving 
water  and  sun,  loving  forest  and  rapids.  With  brown 
faces  and  hands,  and  with  eyes  keen  as  ours,  they  will 
stand  where  we  stood,  they  will  boat  where  we  boated, 
they  will  camp  where  we  camped,  and  the  dead  ashes 
of  fires  that  we  kindled  they  will  kindle  to  new  life 
again.  The  gentle  art  will  live  on,  while  nature  is 
nature  and  mankind  is  man. 


. 


CHAPTER    V. 

THE    MAX    IX    THE    VELVETEEN    JACKET. 

A  merrier  man 

Within  the  limit  of  becoming  mirth 

I  never  spent  an  hour's  talk  withal. 

HE  cliiefest  charm  of  travel  is  found, 
perhaps,  in  the  novel  and  entertain 
ing  characters  that  we  meet,  and  the 
pleasant  rencontres  which  occur. 
The  sweetest  flowers  will  not  come  to 
us  ;  we  must  go  to  them.  They  grow 
in  the  nooks  and  corners  of  fences,  in  cracks  and  cran 
nies  of  the  rocks,  in  crevices  of  the  cliffs,  in  strange 
out-of-the-way  places,  where  only  the  eye  and  the  nose 
of  the  trailer  may  find  them.  In  respect  to  human 
companionship  it  is  the  same ;  the  quaint,  the  intelli 
gent,  the  charming,  the  original  and  piquant  person 
alities  of  the  race  are  not  born  in  groups ;  they  are  not 


THE  MAN  IN  THE  VELVETEEN  JACKET.    69 

found  in  clusters,  nor  can  we  call  them  to  our  homes. 
To  find  them  we  must  travel ;  we  must  look  them  up ; 
we  must  go  where  they  are;  we  must  put  ourselves 
upon  currents  which  cross  their  currents,  and  so,  like 
birds  flying  at  random,  be  blown  together. 

The  finest  delight  of  travel  is  that  of  the  casual 
companionships  it  brings  us,  the  smiles  and  the  bright 
faces  that  we  see,  the  kindly  hands  that  we  clasp,  or 
the  warm  hearts  that  we  meet  in  our  need.  These 
make  the  charm  of  journeying,  and  cause  the  recollec 
tions  of  voyaging  to  be  so  delightful. 

And  this  man  —  this  Man  in  the  Velveteen  Jacket 
—  was  such  a  gift  to  our  party.  It  is  true,  he  had 
come  to  us  recommended  as  no  other  man  might  be. 
His  introduction  accredited  him  to  our  fellowship  as 
the  word  of  a  king  might  not  do,  and  from  the  mo 
ment  he  entered  our  circle  it  was  as  one  who  belonged 
there,  as  one  who  filled  a  place  that  had  waited  for 
him  and  remained  unfilled  until  he  came ;  and  into  it 
he  dropped  without  undue  familiarity,  on  the  one  hand, 
and  without  the  least  awkwardness  or  embarrassment, 
on  the  other. 

His  manners  were  simply  charming,  because  of  a 
happy  mingling  of  modesty  and  self-possession.  He 
was  a  natural  humorist.  His  humor  was  so  quaint  that 
it  amused,  and  so  gravely  expressed  that  it  puzzled. 
As  you  looked  at  his  face  and  listened  to  the  tones  of 
his  voice,  you  were  divided  in  feeling  as  to  whether 
you  were  listening  to  fiction  or  to  fact ;  and  even  amid 
your  laughter  at  the  ludicrousness  of  the  creation,  you 
found  yourself  querying  whether  the  source  of  the 


70  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

fun  at  which  you  were  laughing  was  not  found  in  some 
serious  occurrence. 

"  You  did  it  well,"  said  the  Judge,  referring  to  his 
contest  with  the  trout.  "  You  never  made  a  miss  with 
eye  or  finger.  You  handled  the  rod  as  only  a  man 
can  who  has  handled  it  from  boyhood." 

The  Man  in  the  Velveteen  Jacket  looked  at  the 
Judge  for  a  moment,  with  the  most  mirthful  of  lights 
in  his  eyes,  as  one  who  found  in  his  positive  assertion 
a  suggestion  of  fun,  which  all  of  us  appreciated  at  the 
Judge's  expense  when  he  remarked,  — 

66 1  am  happy  to  think  that  my  manner  of  fighting 
the  fish  met  the  approbation  of  an  old  angler  like 
yourself,  but  as  measured  by  time  I  would  scarcely  be 
regarded  as  an  expert,  for  I  never  touched  a  rod  till  I 
was  twenty-five." 

"  Incredible  !  "  exclaimed  the  Judge.  "  Why,  sir,  I 
have  always  maintained  that  no  man  could  become  an 
expert  with  the  rod  unless  he  began  practice  with  it  as 
a  boy,  — grew  up  with  it,  as  it  were." 

"  Nevertheless,"  continued  the  stranger  pleasantly, 
"  the  fact  is  as  I  have  stated  it.  Until  I  was  twenty- 
five  I  used  the  gun.  Shooting  was  a  passion  with  me. 
It  was  my  favorite  pastime,  and  I  presume  I  should 
never  have  used  the  rod  at  all  —  which  I  have  done 
exclusively  since  a  certain  event  —  unless  I  had  met 
with  a  great  misfortune,  caused  by  a  dog,  —  a  misfor 
tune  which  made  me  lose  all  taste  for  shooting  and 
the  sight  of  a  bird  dog  absolutely  disagreeable  to  me. 
Yes,  gentlemen,"  continued  the  Man  in  the  Velveteen 
Jacket,  earnestly,  "  my  last  experience  with  a  dog  was 


MT.  CARROLL,   FROM    THE  WEST. 


THE  MAN   IN  THE  VELVETEEN   JACKET.  73 

a  most  unfortunate  one,  and  although  years  have 
elapsed  since  I  met  it,  I  cannot  recall  it,  even  at  this 
distance  of  time,  without  an  involuntary  shudder. 
Strange  that  a  man's  life  can  be  seriously  affected  by 
what  seems  at  the  start  a  trivial  event !  But  I  as 
sure  you  that  my  profession,  the  location  of  my  resi 
dence,  and  my  domestic  connection,  are  all  to-day 
different  from  what  they  would  have  been  had  I  never 
met  that  dog." 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  the  astonishing  statement 
of  our  companion  excited  our  curiosity  to  a  degree, 
and  our  looks  doubtless  plainly  apprised  him  of  the 
fact ;  for  after  a  moment's  pause,  he  took  his  pipe 
from  his  mouth,  and  having  emptied  the  ashes  into 
the  cuspidor  as  carefully  as  if  he  were  smoking  in 
a  friend's  parlor,  with  his  friend's  wife  sitting  in  the 
next  room,  in  exact  range  of  the  door  which  com 
manded  his  position,  he  continued,  — 

"  Perhaps  it  is  only  fair  that  I  should  satisfy  your 
curiosity,  which  I  see  I  have  awakened  by  what  may 
seem  to  you  an  extraordinary  statement ;  and  if  it  will 
entertain  you  to  hear  a  story  which  has  little  to  rec 
ommend  it  save  its  novelty  and  its  sadness,  I  will,  at 
the  cost  of  painful  reminiscence,  tell  it  to  you." 

Upon  this  the  Judge,  who,  because  of  the  dignity 
of  his  official  position  as  well  as  of  his  years,  and,  I 
may  add,  the  urbanity  of  his  manners,  was  by  mutual 
assent  of  us  all  regarded  as  the  natural  spokesman  of 
the  party,  replied,  — 

"  I  must  confess  that  I  am  curious  to  hear  the  his 
tory  of  the  dog,  or  of  your  experiences  with  the  dog ;, 


74  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

and  I  doubt  not  that  all  the  gentlemen  here  share  this 
sentiment  with  me ;  and  if  your  feelings  will  allow 
you  to  satisfy  our  curiosity,  I  beg  you  to  do  so.  For 
it  does  seem  extraordinary  that  a  dog  should  be  able 
to  influence  a  man's  life  to  such  an  extent  as  to  change 
the  direction  of  his  activities,  and  even  affect  his  do 
mestic  environment." 

"  You  must  know,  then,  gentlemen,"  resumed  the 
man,  "  that  I  studied  for  the  practice  of  medicine,  and 
was  engaged  to  the  daughter  of  a  noted  physician,  who 
lived  in  the  northern  section  of  Vermont  and  enjoyed 
a  large  and  lucrative  country  practice.  He  was  a  man 
of  large  attainments  and  of  a  high  spirit.  His  only 
daughter  was  a  young  lady  of  unusual  beauty,  and  had 
been  endowed  at  birth  with  a  liberal  share  of  her 
father's  abilities  and  his  excitable  temperament.  She 
was  a  lovely  girl,  and,  being  sole  heiress  prospectively 
to  the  old  doctor's  property,  was  much  courted  by  her 
gentlemen  acquaintances.  When,  therefore,  our  en 
gagement  became  known  I  was,  with  good  reason, 
heartily  congratulated  by  the  generous,  and  cordially 
hated  by  the  envious.  I  had  just  been  graduated  at 
the  medical  school,  and  at  the  close  of  my  summer 
vacation  it  was  arranged  that  the  lady  and  myself 
should  be  married.  This  would  enable  me  to  begin 
my  practice  under  her  father,  the  old  doctor,  whose 
business  would  thus  naturally,  in  the  course  of  time, 
fall  into  my  hands.  I  submit,  gentlemen,  if  any  young 
man  ever  stood  face  to  face  with  a  more  auspicious 
future.  I  was  soon  to  be  united  to  a  beautiful  girl, 
with  an  ample  fortune,  and  be  thereby  admitted  to 


THE  MAN  IN  THE  VELVETEEN  JACKET.     75 

a  professional  connection  which  was  both  gratifying1  to 
my  vanity  and  satisfactory  to  my  ambition.  And  even 
now,  after  years  have  passed,  I  cannot  recall  without 
emotion  that  I  lost  wife  and  fortune,  and  that  a  most 
beautiful  arrangement  of  Providence  was  disturbed, 
broken  up,  smashed,  so  to  speak,  by  a  miserable  dog." 

By  this  time,  as  can  well  be  imagined,  we  were  all 
of  us  intensely  interested  in  the  gentleman's  narrative. 
We  felt  that  his  had  been  no  common  experience,  but 
that  in  the  life  of  the  Man  in  the  Velveteen  Jacket  there 
was  embodied  a  series  of  startling  mishaps,  and  that, 
however  he  might  strive  to  disguise  it  by  forced  calm 
ness  of  voice  or  restraint  of  feature,  we  were  neverthe 
less  about  to  listen  to  the  recital  of  a  lifelong  bereave 
ment —  perhaps  of  a  tragedy.  We  therefore  drew  our 
circle  the  more  closely  around  him,  that  we  might  not 
lose  a  single  word  that  came  from  his  lips.  And  I  could 
see  that  the  Judge,  who  was  endowed  with  acute  sensi 
bilities,  had  prophetically  sensed  what  was  coming,  for 
his  eyes  glistened  appreciatively  behind  his  glasses,  and 
his  large  checked  silk  handkerchief  was  spread  care 
fully  over  his  plump  knees,  ready  to  his  hand. 

"  It  all  happened  in  this  way,"  he  continued,  after 
a  moment's  silence,  devoted  doubtless  by  him  to  sad 
recollections.  "  It  all  happened  in  this  way.  A  few 
days  after  Commencement,  when  I  had  everything 
packed,  and  was  ready  to  go  to  the  doctor's  to  make 
the  preliminary  arrangements  for  the  wedding,  a  club 
of  fellow-sportsmen  invited  me  to  dinner.  I  had,  of 
course,  a  most  enjoyable  evening.  I  believe  there  was 
not  a  man  at  the  table  over  whose  dog  I  had  not  shot ; 


76  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

and  between  the  speeches,  the  songs,  the  anecdotes, 
and  the  reminiscences  of  flood  and  field,  our  mirthful- 
ness  was  unbounded.  All  knew  of  the  good  fortune 
ahead  of  me,  and  each  and  every  one,  I  verily  believe, 
heartily  rejoiced  at  it.  Amid  all  the  changes  of  life," 
said  the  Man  in  the  Velveteen  Jacket  reflectively, 
66  amid  all  the  changes  of  life,  and  the  passage  of  years 
which  have  obliterated  much,  I  have  never  forgotten 
that  happy  evening,  or  the  features  of  a  single  face 
around  those  tables." 

"  Amen  !  "  exclaimed  the  Judge,  who  was  himself  a 
noted  sportsman.  "  Amen  to  the  noble  sentiment. 
There  is  no  comradeship  like  that  of  the  woods  and 
waters,  no  friendship  like  that  of  out-door  men."  And 
the  old  sportsman's  eulogy  was  greeted  by  the  applause 
of  us  all. 

"The  next  morning  I  was  at  my  bank,  getting 
a  check  cashed,  en  route  for  the  depot,  and  being 
pressed  for  time,  was  getting  hurriedly  into  a  coupe 
at  the  door,  when  two  friends  —  a  committee  appointed 
by  the  club  —  rushed  up  to  the  carriage,  having  a 
large  pointer  dog  and  a  speech  to  deliver  to  me.  I 
hastily  explained  my  position  to  them :  that  I  had  n't 
a  minute  to  spare,  and  that  I  must  reach  the  train ; 
that  the  coupe  was  full  of  parcels  and  baskets ;  that  I 
was  truly  grateful,  but  I  did  not  see  how  I  could  make 
room  — 

"  I  am  not  sure  that  my  friends  heard  me  clearly, 
for  there  was  a  great  noise  in  the  street,  and  the 
driver,  who  knew  that  there  was  n't  an  instant  to  lose, 
had  started  his  horse.  Be  that  as  it  may,  the  dog  was 


THE  MAN  IN   THE   VELVETEEN  JACKET.  77 

delivered  to  me.  For,  unfortunately,  the  window  of 
the  coupe  was  open,  and  my  two  friends,  seizing  the 
dog  in  their  hands,  pushed  him  with  great  merriment 
through  the  aperture,  throwing  a  huge  parchment 
pedigree  into  my  lap  at  the  same  time. 

"  As  might  be  expected,  the  dog  was  considerably 
distributed  when  he  landed  in  the  carriage.  One 
muddy  forefoot  went  in  between  my  shirt-front  and 
white  vest,  and  the  other  lanced  along  the  back  side 
of  my  neck.  His  right  hind  foot  was  buried  in  a 
basket  of  grapes,  and  his  left  had  ploughed  through  a 
huge  and  costly  bouquet  of  flowers,  bursting  the  band 
which  held  them  together.  Still,  I  reflected  that  the 
dog  wasn't  to  blame  for  being  so  unceremoniously 
thrust  through  a  window,  and  the  motive  on  the  part 
of  my  friends  which  prompted  the  gift  was  touching. 
So  I  collected  the  different  parts  of  the  dog  as  much 
as  I  could,  brought  him  to  one  centre,  as  it  were, 
and  pressing  him  down  between  my  legs,  tied  him 
by  a  neck-rope  to  a  big  telescope  valise  on  the  seat 
beside  me. 

"  I  had  just  got  the  dog  safely  fixed  in  this  manner, 
and  was  collecting  the  scattered  flowers,  when  the 
coupe  thundered  up  to  the  depot.  The  Jehu  jumped 
from  his  box  and  threw  open  the  door,  crying,  '  Hurry 
up,  zur,  not  a  minit  to  spare.' 

"  I  grabbed  the  basket  of  grapes  in  one  hand,  my 
hat-box  in  the  other,  and  jumped  to  the  pavement. 
But  the  dog  was  as  anxious  to  get  out  as  I  was.  For 
as  I  was  making  my  exit  he  bolted  between  my  legs, 
my  big  valise  was  yanked  from  the  seat,  and  striking 


78  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

me  between  the  shoulders,  knocked  me  on  top  of  the 
dog.  Thinking  I  had  done  it  on  purpose,  he  whipped 
his  tail  between  his  legs  and  rushed  into  the  depot, 
yelling  at  every  jump,  with  the  valise  thumping  along 
after  him,  while  I  plunged  for  it  in  order  to  recapture 
the  dog. 

"  Now  there  happened  to  be  a  big,  corpulent  hack- 
man  carrying  a  huge  trunk  on  his  shoulders  across  the 
platform,  and  my  dog,  like  an  infernal  idiot,  fetched  a 
circle  clean  round  his  legs,  and  then  started  to  jump 
the  track.  The  man's  feet  were  jerked  from  under 
him,  the  big  trunk  dropped  heavily  to  the  platform 
and  burst  open,  and  my  valise  flew  around  and  hit  him 
in  the  stomach  as  he  sat  down ;  while  the  dog,  who 
had  begun  to  feel  that  he  was  being  unjustly  treated, 
doubled  back  and  charged  at  the  big  hackman  with 
bared  teeth  and  tail  stiff  as  a  ramrod.  I  never  saw 
a  madder  man  or  a  worse  muss  in  my  life.  The 
hackman  addressed  me  in  language  which  was  simply 
frightful,  and  I  was  inexpressibly  grateful  when,  with 
the  help  of  a  brakeman,  I  succeeded  in  getting  that 
dreadful  dog  into  the  baggage-car  and  saw  him  lashed 
safely  to  a  stanchion.  The  flowers  were  lost,  the 
basket  of  grapes  was  left  behind,  my  clothes  were 
tracked  all  over  as  if  I  had  served  as  a  mat  to  a  dog- 
kennel,  and  my  poor  valise  looked  as  tired  as  a  com 
positor  at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning. 

"  I  got  an  express  tag  and  wrote  my  name  on  it,  and 
where  I  was  going,  gave  the  dog  some  water  and  the 
baggage-master  two  dollars  to  put  him  off  carefully  at 
the  station  where  I  was  to  stop,  and  then  I  went  back 


THE    HACKMAN. 


THE  MAN  IN  THE  VELVETEEN  JACKET.  81 

to  the  parlor  car  and  spent  an  hour  with  the  porter 
in  getting  the  dog  tracks  off  my  wardrobe. 

"  Well,  along  in  the  afternoon,  when  we  had  got 
well  up  into  Vermont,  the  train  stopped  at  a  small 
station  for  wood  and  water,  and  I  strolled  forward  to 
see  if  my  dog  was  all  right  and  make  his  acquaintance 
a  little.  To  my  horror,  I  discovered  that  a  new  bag 
gage-man  had  come  aboard,  and  reading  the  directions 
wrongly,  had  put  my  dog  off  at  a  village  nearly  fifty 
miles  back  in  New  Hampshire.  There  was  only  one 
thing  to  do,  and  that  was  to  go  back  after  him.  For 
tunately  the  down  train  was  due  in  a  few  moments, 
and  when  it  came  in  I  boarded  it.  I  reached  the 
town  about  seven  in  the  evening,  and  not  a  bit  too 
soon,  for  my  dog  had  already  made  a  record  for  him 
self,  and  was  acting  in  a  manner  to  secure  an  obituary 
notice  of  at  least  a  column  in  length  in  the  next  issue 
of  the  village  paper.  The  station-master  had  received 
him  from  the  baggage-man,  and  not  knowing  to  whom 
he  should  deliver  him,  had  very  properly  tied  him  to  a 
trunk  in  the  baggage-room,  locked  him  in,  and  gone 
home.  In  two  or  three  hours  he  became  tired  of  wait 
ing,  and  gnawing  his  rope  in  two  went  out  through  the 
window,  taking  half  the  sash  with  him.  No  sooner 
had  he  touched  the  ground  than  the  station-master's 
dog  pitched  upon  him,  and  after  a  short  experience  he 
started  up  the  principal  street  of  the  village,  as  near 
the  centre  as  a  dog  in  a  hurry  could  estimate  with  my 
dog  in  exact  line  and  only  one  jump  behind  him.  The 
two  had  gone  into  the  station-agent's  house,  as  near  the 
same  instant  as  they  could  have  done  if  they  had  prac- 


82  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

ticed  a  hundred  years.  The  man  was  at  supper  with 
his  family,  in  the  act  of  saying  grace,  and  when  the  two 
dogs  went  under  the  table  they  lifted  it  as  much  as 
three  feet  straight  up  in  the  air.  The  agent's  wife 
went  into  hysterics,  his  oldest  daughter  fainted  where 
she  sat,  and  the  man,  without  waiting  to  collect  his  own 
dog,  chased  mine  into  the  street  with  a  shot-gun  in  his 
hand,  yelling  <  Mad  dog  !  mad  dog ! '  at  the  top  of 
his  voice.  He  would  undoubtedly  have  killed  my  dog, 
had  he  not  stopped  to  take  aim,  and  it  was  owing  to 
this  slight  mistake,  probably,  that  my  dog  escaped  with 
his  life. 

"  I  never  knew  how  I  got  out  of  that  town  alive,  for 
I  insulted  every  man  that  spoke  to  me,  and  got  into 
two  fights  while  the  light  lasted.  But  I  did,  and  had 
the  dog  with  me,  too,  for  I  was  pretty  hot  over  the 
treatment  we  both  had  received  in  that  village,  and 
moreover,  I  hold  that  every  man  ought  to  stand  by 
his  dog." 

"  That 's  right,"  said  the  Judge,  as  he  wiped  his 
eyes.  "  Yes,  every  man  ought  to  stand  by  his  dog,  in 
court  and  out  of  court." 

And  for  several  minutes  the  Man  in  the  Velveteen 
Jacket  was  unable  to  proceed  because  of  the  emotions 
his  story  had  elicited  from  those  who  sat  listening  to 
his  vivid  narration. 

"  But  all  this,"  he  resumed  at  length,  —  "  all  this,  in 
itself  considered,  was  of  very  little  importance,  nothing 
more  than  any  man  who  has  had  a  dog  with  a  pedi 
gree  given  him  might  expect  to  have  happen.  I 
would  not  even  have  mentioned  it  were  it  not  that  it  is 


THE  MAN  IN  THE  VELVETEEN  JACKET.     83 

necessary  you  should  know  these  precedent  trivialities 
in  order  that  you  may  appreciate  what  follows,  and 
understand  how  it  was  that  the  dog  ruined  me,  and  I 
became  an  angler. 

"  I  got  the  dog  home  at  last,  and  put  him  into  the 
hospital,  for  he  had  been  considerably  rattled  and  was 
out  of  repairs,  so  to  speak.  So  I  wrote  to  my  fiancee 
that  I  was  unexpectedly  detained  from  my  anticipated 
visit  by  a  sprained  ankle,  but  that  I  had  the  ankle 
under  treatment,  and  would  surely  be  with  her  the  next 
week.  I  also  told  her  that  I  had  been  presented  with 
a  beautiful  pointer  dog,  one  of  the  liveliest  and  bright 
est  animals  I  had  ever  met,  and  that  I  would  bring 
my  pet  over  when  I  came,  and  I  pleasantly  added  the 
following :  — 

"  ( P.  S.  How  delightful  it  is,  my  darling,  that  both 
of  us  have  a  pet,  —  you  a  favorite  cat,  I  an  amiable 
dog,  —  with  which  to  begin  our  married  life  and  en 
liven  our  domestic  circle.' 

"  Alas !  how  little,"  exclaimed  the  Man  in  the  Vel 
veteen  Jacket  plaintively,  —  "  how  little  can  we  mortals 
anticipate  what  is  ahead  of  us ! 

"  The  dog  was  one  of  those  irrepressible  specimens 
of  canine  exuberance  that  you  could  but  admire,"  he 
continued.  "  He  was  a  born  hunter,  if  there  ever  was 
one.  He  was  nobly  free  from  partiality,  and  hunted 
one  class  of  objects  as  readily  as  another.  All  scents 
in  his  nose  meant  game.  An  old  hen  was  a  delight  to 
his  soul,  and  a  calf  kept  his  spirits  from  depression. 
A  stray  pig  was  a  godsend,  and  a  timid,  half-broken 
colt  threw  him  into  ecstacies.  But  if  there  was  one 


84  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

thing  on  the  earth  that  he  yearned  for  more  than  an 
other,  it  was  a  cat.  A  large,  well-built,  positive-minded, 
masculine  cat  represented  a  whole  hemisphere  of  game 
to  him.  He  was  a  bird-dog  nominally,  but  practically 
his  pedigree  starred  him  with  universal  adaptations. 
Nevertheless,  at  the  sight  of  a  cat  he  became  super- 
sensitive.  At  that  moment  there  was  no  hesitation  in 
him.  He  acted  spontaneously  and  in  a  straight  line. 
At  such  an  opportunity  he  was  always  at  full  cock  and 
went  off  himself.  Then  it  was  that  he  seemed  pos 
sessed  of  a  human  soul,  and  to  realize  that  beautiful 
moral  maxim  that  ' he  who  hesitates  is  lost.'' 

"  Oh,  Lord ! "  said  the  Judge,  and  reaching  up  to 
his  linen  duster  he  extracted  a  fresh  handkerchief. 

It  was  not  because  there  was  any  remarkable  humor 
in  the  story  that  the  Man  in  the  Velveteen  Jacket  was 
telling  that  we  were  affected  so  strongly,  but  because 
of  his  happy  mannerism  in  telling  it,  and  the  lightness 
of  our  own  dispositions.  For  he  told  it  with  a  quaint- 
ness  of  expression  and  a  lightness  of  touch  that  left 
nothing  to  be  desired  by  the  hearer,  and  all  of  us 
were  in  a  mind  to  be  tickled,  and  hence  we  received 
the  reflections  of  his  humor  as  the  water  receives  the 
sky,  and  I  have  often  noted  that  the  humor  of  the 
humorist  and  that  of  the  audience  equally  contribute 
to  the  laughter  that  ensues.  Be  this  as  it  may,  we  all 
laughed  with  the  abandonment  of  children  at  the  nar 
rative  he  was  telling.  And  when  he  began  again  he 
did  so  with  even  a  quicker  movement  and  a  livelier 
manner  of  expression.  If  it  were  fiction  he  was  nar 
rating,  he  had  evidently  begun  to  enjoy  it  as  if  it  were 


THE  MAN  IN  THE  VELVETEEN   JACKET.  85 

real ; '  and  if  it  were  fact,  the  original  sadness  of  the 
event  was  now  wholly  obliterated  by  the  mirthf ulness 
of  the  recollection. 

"  A  happier  man  than  I  never  breathed  the  morn 
ing  air/'  he  resumed,  "  when  I  started  across  the  coun 
try  to  visit  the  home  of  my  betrothed.  I  pictured  to 
myself,  as  I  swung  along  the  country  road,  the  joy  of 
our  meeting  and  the  happiness  of  our  future  lives.  I 
knew  that  the  old  doctor  had  a  temper  like  a  Turk, 
and  that  my  beloved  was  impulsive.  But  I  reflected 
with  satisfaction  that  the  one  could  not  in  the  order  of 
nature  live  forever,  and  that  the  earnest  temperament 
of  the  other  would  doubtless  be  mollified  by  the  soft 
ening  influence  of  my  example. 

"  My  dog,  to  which  I  had  already  become  attached, 
shared  the  buoyancy  of  my  spirits.  He  fastened  him 
self  joyfully  on  to  every  calf  that  he  met,  and  abbre 
viated  the  tail  of  every  chicken  he  encountered.  The 
whole  country  grew  profane  in  his  wake,  and  I 
knew  that  every  shot-gun  was  being  loaded  for  his 
return.  Happy  in  the  excitement  he  created,  he  dis 
tributed  his  favors  on  either  side  of  the  road  with 
ingenuous  impartiality,  and  hunted  with  equal  zest 
the  pigs  in  the  meadows  and  the  cats  in  the  porches. 
The  dogs  that  limped  into  their  kennels  after  he  had 
passed  were  dazed  with  the  quickness  of  their  experi 
ence,  and  I  doubt  not  that  the  religious  element  of 
that  section  remembers  to  this  day  his  advent  as  a 
visitation. 

"  I  shall  never  be  able,  gentlemen,  to  make  you 
understand  what  happened.  Even  to  me,  after  years 


86  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

of  reflection,  it  remains  a  nightmare  of  wild  sights 
and  savage  sounds ;  a  kaleidoscopic  mixture  of  colors 
and  forms ;  a  vision  of  a  dreadful  meeting  and  a 
more  awful  parting,  —  a  meeting  and  a  parting  which, 
from  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  could  never  be 
repeated. 

"  With  fond  anticipations  I  turned  a  corner  in  the  road 
and  suddenly  stood  within  a  few  rods  of  the  house  ;  and 
there,  gentlemen,  oh,  there  was  my  fiancee  waving  her 
handkerchief  to  me,  while  the  old  doctor,  seated  in  his 
gig,  was  proudly  showing  off  the  paces  of  a  half- 
broken  four-year-old  colt  he  had  recently  purchased. 
Impelled  by  feelings  too  strong  to  be  restrained,  I  swung 
my  hat  joyfully  over  my  head,  gave  a  cheerful  halloo, 
and  rushed  forward.  That  infernal  idiot  of  a  dog, 
hearing  my  cry,  seeing  me  swinging  my  hat  and  rush 
ing  down  the  road,  went  for  that  prancing  colt  like  a 
freckled  meteor.  The  colt  saw  him  coming  and  gave 
a  tremendous  bound,  and  as  the  dog  went  under  him 
in  a  cloud  of  dust,  he  opened  two  holes  as  big  as  a  hat 
through  the  dashboard  of  the  gig,  and  then  bolted 
down  the  road. 

"  Never  did  I  see  a  horse  and  a  dog  lay  themselves 
lower  down  to  the  ground.  Each  was  running  from  a 
motive,  and  each  had  an  object  in  view.  Under  such 
favorable  conditions  their  pace  was  terrific  and  both 
attended  strictly  to  business.  The  old  doctor  was 
standing  up  in  the  gig,  his  stubbly  gray  hair  pointing 
toward  the  home  he  was  leaving,  pulling  like  a  wind 
lass  at  the  reins,  his  linen  duster  flying  behind  him,  and 
a  stream  of  small  bottles  pouring  out  of  each  pocket ! 


THE  MAN  IN  THE  VELVETEEN  JACKET.     89 

"  I  stood  hat  in  hand  aghast  at  the  sight,  but  —  I 
swear  to  you,  gentlemen,  had  I  died  for  it  the  next  min 
ute,  I  could  not  have  helped  it  —  laughing  until  the 
tears  stood  in  my  eyes.  Suddenly  I  looked  at  my 
betrothed,  and  then  I  nearly  dropped.  I  saw  by  the 
look  in  her  face  that  it  was  aU  up  with  me,  that  my 
world  had  stopped,  and  that  the  sun  would  nevermore 
rise  on  the  hills  of  my  love. 

"  She  thought  I  had  set  that  miserable  dog  on  the 
colt ! 

"  She  never  opened  her  mouth,  but  silently  went  into 
the  house.  I  followed.  I  spoke  as  a  man  naturally 
would  in  such  circumstances.  There  was  no  haugh 
tiness  in  my  voice.  She  simply  turned  and  looked 
at  me.  Gentlemen,  there  was  no  love  in  her  eyes,  not 
a  trace  !  Then  she  said,  — 

« <  Sir  ! !  ! ' 

"  Still  I  fought  for  my  life.  Wife  and  fortune  were 
trembling  in  the  balance.  I  saw  it.  I  pleaded.  I 
knelt,  —  yes,  I  knelt  at  her  feet;  I  poured  out  my 
vows ;  I  seized  her  unwilling  hand ;  I  saw  I  was  making 
headway.  She  began  to  relent.  There  was  a  chance, 
a  fighting  chance,  as  it  were.  My  heart  bounded  with 
hope.  Gentlemen,  I  should  have  won,  —  I  give  you 
my  word,  I  should  have  won.  By  a  close  calculation 
of  chances,  you  can  see  I  should  have  won.  When, 
—  suddenly  I  heard  a  sound,  —  a  sound  I  recognized, 
and  glancing  toward  the  door,  there !  —  there  stood 
that  damnable  dog !  And  that  was  n't  the  worst  of  it, 
he  was  looking  at  something  !  looking  steadily  and 
fixedly  at  something,  with  that  coppery  and  unearthly 


90  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

look  in  his  eyes  I  had  grown  to  know  so  well.  Invol 
untarily  I  followed  the  direction  of  his  gaze,  and, 
Great  Caesar's  Ghost !  there  under  the  centre-table  I 
saw  my  fiancee's  cat  —  a  monstrous,  masculine  cat,  as 
yellow  as  saffron  and  ugly  as  Satan  ! 

"  Gentlemen,  you  would  like  to  know  what  followed  ? 
I  cannot  tell  you.  It  was  bedlam  let  loose  in  that 
beautiful  home  !  My  betrothed  gave  one  scream  as 
the  dog  and  cat  met,  then  fainted.  I  managed  to  get 
her  out  of  the  room  and  into  the  hands  of  a  servant 
at  the  other  end  of  the  house,  and  then  I  went  back 
and  looked  into  the  apartment.  There  was  nothing  to 
be  seen  but  revolving  remnants  of  furniture  and  an 
atmosphere  of  yellow  and  brown  which  occasionally 
condensed  itself  in  the  centre  and  then  broke  again 
into  concentric  rings.  But  I  knew  what  was  there 
nevertheless.  I  knew  that  in  that  yellow  and  brown 
atmosphere  there  were  two  separate,  individual  entities, 
and  that  they  were  anatomically  hostile  and  chemically 
opposite ;  that  sooner  or  later  those  two  entities  would 
be  resolved  into  their  elements  or  would  lie  on  that 
floor  side  by  side,  dead ;  and  that  there  would  be  woe 
in  that  house ;  and  that  it  was  no  place  for  me  to  be 
found  in  after  the  old  doctor  had  returned. 

"  Under  such  awful  circumstances  I  left  the  house. 
I  never  went  back  to  it,  for  the  next  morning  I  heard 
that  the  doctor  had  been  brought  home  in  a  cart,  and 
that  distributed  resemblances  to  a  cat  had  been  collected 
and  buried  in  the  garden.  No  tidings  reached  me  of 
my  dog  and  I  believed  him  to  be  dead.  But  I  was 
mistaken.  I  packed  my  valise  ;  I  started  for  the  train 


"THE    DOG    AND    CAT    MET. 


THE  MAN  IN  THE  VELVETEEN  JACKET.  93 

with  the  feeling  of  a  man  who  has  lost  all  and  to  whom 
therefore  no  venture  has  the  terror  of  a  risk.  I  deter 
mined  to  leave  the  country  forever  and  come  West. 
For  there,  I  reflected,  if  anywhere  on  the  earth,  amid 
new  scenes,  pursuits,  and  companionship,  I  should  be 
able  to  forget  the  miseries  of  the  past  or  school  myself 
to  endurance. 

"  With  these  thoughts  in  my  mind  I  hurried  to  the 
depot,  for  the  whistle  of  the  express  had  already 
sounded,  and  hastily  paying  for  my  ticket  started  for 
the  platform.  When,  —  Great  Heavens  !  what  should 
I  see  but  that  irrepressible  dog,  jauntily  trotting  across 
the  village  Common  with  his  eye  open  for  adventure, 
and  evidently  seeking  his  unfortunate  master. 

"  And  this  is  the  reason,  gentlemen,  why  I  gave  up 
shooting  and  became  an  angler." 

At  the  closing  word  the  signal  sounded,  the  train 
stopped,  under  a  strong  application  of  the  brakes,  on 
the  banks  of  a  magnificent  stream,  which  tumbled 
down  from  the  mountains  in  a  succession  of  jumps, 
into  wide,  deep  pools. 

"  Keep  the  trout,"  exclaimed  the  man  gayly,  as  he 
swung  himself  down  from  the  railing,  and  landed  amid 
wild  flowers  that  bloomed  as  high  as  his  waist ;  "  keep 
the  trout  for  your  larder ;  I  shall  duplicate  the  string 
before  evening." 

"  Give  us  your  card,"  yelled  the  Judge,  as  the  train 
started,  and  he  flung  his  own  pasteboard  upon  the 
track  ;  "  give  us  your  card ;  how  shall  I  know  where 
to  find  you  next  summer  ?  " 


DAYLIGHT  LAND. 


"  I  have  n't  any  card/'  returned  the  stranger,  calling 
pleasantly  to  us  as  the  train  receded,  "  but  come  next 
year  to  the  Nepigon  and  bring  all  your  friends,  and 
you  '11  find  the  Man  in  the  Velveteen  Jacket  on  one  of 
the  pools." 


CHAPTER   VI. 

THE    CAPITALIST. 

Great  contest  follows  and  much  learned  dust 
Involves  the  combatants,  each  claiming  truth, 
And  Truth  disclaiming  both. 

NE  of  the  largest  cities  on  the  conti 
nent  will  stand  here  within  fifty 
years,"  said  the  Judge ;  and  he 
spoke  as  a  man  accustomed  to 
know  the  reasons  for  his  judgment. 
This  sentence  was  delivered  to 
our  group  as  we  stood  on  the  wharf  at  Port  Arthur, 
watching  the  huge  steamer,  just  in  from  Owen's  Sound, 
unload  its  monstrous  cargo  of  freight.  Its  passengers, 
having  landed  an  hour  before,  were  now  rolling  west- 


96  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

ward  to  the  prairies,  the  mountains,  and  the  shores  of 
the  mild  ocean. 

"  I  think  just  as  you  do,"  said  a  gentleman  near  us ; 
"  I  think  just  as  you  do,  sir ;  and,"  he  added  firmly, 
"  I  have  put  up  money  on  my  faith." 

The  voice  sounded  familiar,  very  familiar.  I  glanced 
at  him,  but  I  could  not  place  him  for  an  instant ;  and 
then  —  why,  certainly,  —  the  years  do  change  us,  — 
don't  they  ?  Gray  ?  of  course  he  should  be  gray,  and 
I  thought  of  my  own  head,  and,  advancing  a  step, 
reached  out  my  hand. 

"  Mr.  Pepperell,"  I  said,  "  I  am  delighted  to  greet 
you ;  I  did  not  recognize  you  at  first ;  your  hair  is 
whiter  than  it  once  was.  Every  strong  stalk  flowers 
at  last,  eh  ?  " 

"  I  did  not  recognize  you,  either,"  replied  Mr.  Pep 
perell,  returning  my  greeting  with  cordiality.  "  I 
did  n't  recognize  you,  either,  at  first,  but  it  was  n't 
because  of  your  whiter  head,  but  because  of  the  bronze 
on  your  face.  You  look  like  an  Indian  from  the 
plains." 

"  I  feel  like  an  Indian  at  least  three  times  a  day,"  I 
replied  ;  "  and  the  Judge  here  is  making  an  epicure  of 
me.  Mr.  Pepperell,  allow  me  to  present  you  to  Judge 
John  Doe,  of  San  Francisco,"  I  added.  "  Judge,  this  is 
Mr.  Pepperell  of  Boston,  a  capitalist  of  the  Hub,  and, 
better  than  all,  a  gentleman.  I  am  happy  to  be  the 
means  of  bringing  you  two  together."  I  said  it  heart 
ily,  for  I  knew  them  both  to  be  gentlemen  of  standing, 
amiability,  and  wit. 

"  May   I    ask,  Mr.  Pepperell,"  I  said,  after  he  had 


THE   CAPITALIST. 


97 


been  presented  to  the  other  members  of  the  party, 
"  may  I  ask  on  what  grounds  you  expect  a  city  to  be 
built  here  in  this  great  opening  between  the  mountains, 
on  the  shores  of  Thunder  Bay  ?  " 

"  The  site  of  great  cities,"  answered  Mr.  Pepperell, 


—  and  he  spoke  with  that  positiveness  of  expression 
and  breadth  of  knowledge  which  characterizes  the  suc 
cessful  American,  —  "  the  site  of  great  cities  is  a  mat 
ter  of  geography.  When  God  formed  the  continent, 
he  designated  where  every  city  on  it  should  be  located. 
Granted  a  population  north  and  west  of  Manhattan 


98  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

Island,  and  New  York  must  be  built.  Populate  New 
England,  and  Boston  is  the  inevitable  result.  The 
Lachine  Rapids  and  an  inhabited  Canada  necessitate 
Montreal.  The  prairies  of  the  West  must  have  a  com 
mercial  centre,  and  hence  Chicago.  Now  look  at  this 
site.  These  mountains,  hills,  even  the  islands  in  front 
of  us,  are  full  of  precious  ores,  —  iron,  copper  (and 
copper,  too,  free  from  sulphur),  silver,  gold,  nickel. 
Look  at  this  harbor,  fenced  on  all  sides  from  gales, 
deep,  roomy,  freed  from  ice  each  spring  earlier  than 
any  other  on  the  lake.  Into  it  empties  that  river,  the 
Keministiquia,  yonder,  up  whose  quiet  channel  a  steamer 
with  a  draught  of  twenty-six  feet  can  steam  for  four 
miles.  Was  there  ever  such  natural  wharfage  given 
for  commerce,  made  ready,  so  to  speak,  for  the  hand 
of  man  to  use,  as  those  eight  miles  of  level  river 
banks?  Look  at  that  elevator  there.  It  holds  one 
million,  three  hundred  thousand  bushels  of  wheat. 
Within  sixty  days  two  more  of  the  same  size  will  stand 
beside  it.  Four  millions  of  bushels  accommodated 
where  two  years  ago  commerce  had  not  laid  down  a 
single  grain.  How  many  elevators  do  you  think, 
Judge,  will  be  on  that  bank  ten  years  from  to-day? 
Last  year  those  prairies  to  the  west  produced  thirteen 
million  bushels  of  wheat.  This  year  they  will  yield 
twenty  millions.  Four  years  ago  scientific  men  were 
disputing  whether  wheat  would  grow  on  that  soil  or 
not !  The  wheat  area  west  of  us  is  larger  than  the 
whole  wheat  area  of  the  United  States.  The  soil  of 
this  vast  belt  is  virgin  soil,  rich,  inexhaustible.  I  am 
talking  from  knowledge,  gentlemen.  I  have  been  there 


THE  CAPITALIST.  99 

and  looked  into  this  thing,  and  I  know  that  under 
decent  cultivation  every  acre  will  yield  forty  bushels  of 
finer  quality  than  the  wheat  of  California  or  Russia. 
How  much  wheat  do  you  think  will  be  raised  in  that 
vast  wheat  belt  yonder  twenty-five  years  hence  ?  And 
how  is  it  to  reach  the  markets  of  the  world  ?  It  must 
go  south  to  the  States,  or  it  is  coming  here  to  Thunder 
Bay.  These  are  the  only  two  directions  it  can  take 
in  its  exit.  And  so  I  say,  and  I  've  backed  my  faith 
with  my  money,  that  here  on  this  beautiful  site  will 
spring  up  one  of  the  great  cities  of  the  continent." 

Mr.  Pepperell's  presentation  of  the  subject  was  lis 
tened  to  with  the  gravest  attention  by  all  the  group, 
in  which,  if  the  fact  must  be  stated,  there  was  more 
money  seeking  investment  than  is  often  found  on  any 
particular  wharf.  The  Yankee  can  look  up  a  long 
perspective  with  a  good  dollar  at  the  other  end  of  it, 
and  this  northwestern  section  of  the  continent  is  al 
ready  attracting  a  deal  of  attention  in  the  States,  from 
shrewd,  far-sighted  men. 

"  Mr.  Pepperell,"  remarked  the  Judge,  "  my  own 
judgment,  based  upon  careful  forecast,  sustains  your 
opinion  fully.  Illinois  is  a  great  State.  It  is  larger  in 
arable  acres  than  England  and  Wales  with  their  popu 
lation  of  twenty-six  millions.  The  State  of  Illinois  can 
support  twenty  millions  of  population  easily.  But  the 
productive  area  of  this  western  Canada  is  ten  times 
larger  than  the  State  of  Illinois.  Two  hundred  millions 
of  people  can  be  supported,  richly  supported,  north  of 
the  forty-ninth  parallel.  Five  hundred  miles  north  of 
the  international  boundary  you  can  sow  wheat  three 


100  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

weeks  earlier  than  you  can  in  Dakota.  The  climate 
is  milder  in  the  valley  of  the  Peace  Kiver  than  it  is  in 
Manitoba.  These  great  facts  of  Nature  are  significant 
and  impressive ;  none  the  less  so  because  up  to  this 
time  they  have  had  little  advertisement  and  are  known 
to  a  comparative  few.  Yes,  sir,  you  are  right ;  there 
must  be  a  great  city  here." 

"  The  fact  is/'  resumed  Mr.  Pepperell,  and  he  spoke 
with  the  enthusiasm  which  characterizes  the  American 
when  speaking  of  his  country,  "  the  people  of  this  con 
tinent  have  only  just  got  started.  On  our  side  of  the 
line  we  are  sixty  millions,  which  are  only  the  seed  of 
the  six  hundred  millions  that  are  to  be.  People  talk  a 
deal  about  the  capacity  of  this  continent  to  produce 
bushels  and  pounds,  grain  and  meat.  Why  don't  they 
figure  on  that  higher  problem,  —  the  capacity  to  pro 
duce  men  ?  Granted  a  good  climate,  a  productive  soil, 
cheap  fuel,  absence  of  war,  popularized  knowledge,  and 
the  ennobling  influences  of  liberty,  and  what  limit  can 
you  put  to  the  development  of  such  a  people,  not  in 
resources  alone  but  in  numbers?  Why  should  they 
not  multiply  and  increase  and  possess  the  land  ?  Un 
less  we  go  to  cutting  each  other's  throats,  half  the  pres 
ent  population  of  the  globe  will  be  living  on  this  con 
tinent  within  three  hundred  years." 

"  Gad  !  "  said  the  Judge,  "  I  was  born  too  early  !  " 

"I  have  a  friend,"  I  remarked,  "who  predicts  — 
and  he  is  n't  a  Vennor  either  —  that  Chicago  will  ulti 
mately  have  a  population  of  fifteen  millions." 

"  I  have  n't  a  doubt  of  it,"  said  one  of  the  group, 
calmly. 


THE  CAPITALIST.  101 

"  Eh  !  What !  "  exclaimed  the  Judge,  "  how  is  it  you 
are  so  positive  ?  " 

"It  is  a  matter  of  knowledge,"  returned  the  man, 
"  absolute  knowledge." 

"  Knowledge  !  "  exclaimed  the  Judge,  "  how  is 
that?" 

"  The  gentleman  looked  at  the  Judge  contempla 
tively  for  a  few  moments,  then  said,  "  /  was  born 
there  !  " 

"  0  Lord  !  "  exclaimed  the  Judge,  "  where  's  the 
train?"  And  breaking  up  with  laughter  we  started 
for  our  car. 

No  sooner  were  we  on  board  the  train  and  collected 
in  the  smoking  room  —  that  most  companionable  spot 
for  smokers  on  the  earth  —  than  the  spirit  of  the 
group  underwent  a  characteristic  change.  With  one 
or  two  exceptions  it  happened  that  we  represented  the 
great  progressive  Republic  and  that  large  class  of 
travelers,  whose  number  is  legion,  that  are  to-day  with 
lavish  expenditures  ransacking  the  globe  —  a  class  who 
go  armed  with  more  stories  and  more  cash  than  the 
world  ever  had  carried  round  it  before.  On  the  wharf 
Mr.  Pepperell  was  the  impersonation  of  business  ability 
and  foresight ;  sharp,  incisive,  edged  like  a  razor,  a 
man  whose  forecast  was  that  of  a  statesman  and  whose 
language  was  that  of  a  prince  among  financiers.  With 
millions  to  invest,  he  had  on  the  one  hand  a  full  sense 
of  financial  responsibility,  and  on  the  other,  the  cour 
age  of  his  judgment.  For  he  had  examined  the  field 
of  his  investments  for  himself,  not  trusting  to  the  eyes 
or  the  words  of  another,  and  hence  he  knew  the  almost 


102 


DAYLIGHT  LAND. 


boundless  resources  of  the  country  and'  had  full  faith 
in  its  development.  But  once  in  the  car  he  was  no 
longer  a  financier,  no  longer  the  business  man,  no 
longer  the  speculator,  but  an  American  traveler,  jo 
vial,  quaint,  humorous,  vivacious  of  speech,  and  loaded 
to  the  muzzle  with  anecdotes. 

"You  would  never  suspect,  gentlemen,  perhaps," 
said  Mr.  Pepperell,  as  he  took  his  cigar  from  his 
mouth  and  blew  a  dozen  rings  of  blue  smoke  into  the 

air ;  "  you  would 
never  suspect  that 
I  was  once  busted 
— completely,  over 
whelmingly  busted. 
In  '48  I  crossed 
the  plains.  I  was 
young.  I  had  an 
attack  of  the  gold 
fever  —  had  it  bad. 
I  made  some  money 
and  got  a  good  deal 
of  experience.  But 
on  the  whole,  luck 
was  against  me. 
After  ten  years  of 
knocking  about, 
during  which  I  was 
the  rolling  stone  of 
the  proverb,  with  hundreds  of  other  old  time  Califor- 
nians  I  started  for  the  Fraser.  My  first  experience  in 
British  Columbia  was  at  American  Bar.  below  the 


THE  CAPITALIST. 


103 


Black  Canon,  and  I  shared  that  magnificent  bit  of  luck 
with  my  countrymen.     Pushing  farther  up  into  the 


country  —  after  the  Bar 
had  played  out — I  struck 
one  of  the  tributaries  of 
the  Thompson,  pay  gravel 
of  the  richest  sort.  I  was 
alone  and  I  decided  to 
work  it  alone;  I  had  a 
mule  and  a  billy  goat 
that  had  followed  me 
when  the  great  camp 


104  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

broke  up  at  American  Bar,  a  hap-hazard  impulse  on  his 
part  probably,  for  he  was  the  forager  of  the  camp 
and  not  a  man  claimed  the  least  ownership  in  him. 
He  had  probably  been  lost  and  won  more  times  at 
poker  than  any  other  bit  of  property  on  the  face  of 
the  earth.  Indeed,  he  was  the  universal  resort  of  all 
of  us  when  bankrupted  at  that  lively  and  fascinating 
game ;  for  two  reasons,  —  first,  because  he  was  no 
one's  property,  and  second,  his  value  was  flexible ;  it 
had  an  elastic  quality  about  it  which  accommodated 
the  necessities  of  the  man  who  had  lost,  and  minis 
tered  to  the  amusement  of  the  man  who  had  won. 
The  number  of  men  whom  that  goat  had  started  on 
the  road  to  fortune  will  never  be  ascertained,  and  the 
multitude  who,  when  they  had  recklessly  gambled  their 
last  article  of  value  away,  with  oaths  or  with  laughter 
claimed  one  more  deal  on  the  strength  of  that  goat  as 
a  personal  chattel  belonging  exclusively  to  themselves, 
was  probably  equal  to  the  census  of  the  camp.  He 
had  become,  therefore,  both  the  inspiration  and  the 
consolation  of  us  all;  a  piece  of  communal  property 
of  accommodating  value,  which  every  man,  at  one  time 
or  another,  had  contemplated  with  hope  or  with  grati 
tude  ;  an  object  of  universal  solicitude,  and  of  which 
American  Bar  was  justly  proud.  His  temperament  and 
his  habits  were  such  as  belonged  to  his  genus.  If  his 
animating  principle  was  ever  any  other  than  curiosity, 
surely  no  one  discovered  it,  and  if  he  ever  lost  an  op 
portunity  to  hit  a  man  when  a  favorable  one  offered,  it 
never  was  known.  He  followed  me  as  my  mule  ambled 
out  of  the  camp  as  he  might  any  other  of  the  six  hun- 


THE   CAPITALIST.  105 

dred  men  who  were  there,  and  attached  himself  to  my 
fortunes  with  that  whimsicalness  of  motive  which  is 
probably  explainable  only  to  the  mind  of  a  goat.  His 
name  was  Percussion,  a  name  which, 
with  facetious  appropriateness,  had 
been  given  to  him  by  a  tall  Ala- 
bamian  one  morning  immedi 
ately  after  a  personal  experi 
ence  by  which  the  name 
was  suddenly  suggested, 


and  which  caused  the  christening  to  be  accompanied 
with  considerable  profanity. 

"  I  cannot  say  that  my  affections  were  greatly  im 
pressed  because  Percussion  followed  me  out  of  the 
camp,  nor  did  I  feel  the  insinuations  of  flattery  be 
cause  he  thus  showed  his  partiality  for  my  companion 
ship  ;  for  I  had  indisputable  evidence  that  in  nature  he 
was  wholly  void  of  a  conscience,  and  utterly  unable 
to  distinguish  between  friend  and  foe.  Nor  was  I  de 
ceived  by  the  apparent  amiability  of  his  conduct,  for 
during  the  time  he  was  with  me  I  never  dropped  my 
habit  of  watchfulness,  or  saw  any  evidence  in  the  con 
duct  of  Percussion  that  would  warrant  my  doing  so. 
If  the  old  reprobate  ever  dreamed  of  reform,  the  vision 


106 


DAYLIGHT  LAND. 


of  the  night  never  affected  in  the  least  the  habits  of 
the  day. 

"  You  can  well  imagine/'  continued  Mr.  Pepperell, 
as  he  lighted  a  fresh  cigar,  "  that  I  worked 
the  find  for  all  it  was  worth.  By  eking 
out  my  provisions  with  the  help  of  the 
trout  in  the  stream,  I  managed  to  remain 
in  the  lonely  spot  for  nearly  a  month,  and 
then,  being  absolutely  without  provisions, 
I  was  driven  to  leave ;  I  was  the  more 
willing  to  do  so  because,  as  nearly  as  I 
could  estimate,  I  was  in  possession  of  fifty  thousand 
dollars'  worth  of  dust  and  nuggets. 

"  The  last  evening  I  spent  in  the  camp  I  devoted  to 
arranging  for  transportation  and  to 
picturing  the  delights  of  the  future. 
Percussion  had  not  lacked  entertain 
ment,  for  while  I  was  accumulating 
wealth,  he  was  actively  engaged  in  col 
lecting  data  for  reminiscence.  The 
white  goats  of  the  mountain,  so  rare  south  of  the  na 
tional  line,  were  plentiful  in  the  crags  around  my 
camp,  and  more  than  once  had  I  been 
amused  in  contemplating  a  contest  be 
tween  Percussion  and  some  f  ac-simile  of 
his  of  the  hills ;  a  contest  which  I  am 
bound  to  say  invariably  terminated  in 
favor  of  the  champion  of  the  camp.  It 
was  plainly  a  case  in  which  civilized  training  had  added 
to  the  prowess  of  nature,  and  steady  practice  with  a 
variety  of  subjects  made  him  master  of  his  art. 


I"  \  W 


Jife- 


ON    A   CLIFF,  STOOD    PERCUSSION." 


THE  CAPITALIST.  109 

"  I  was  up  with  the  dawn  on  the  morning  set  for  my 
departure,  and  started  at  once  for  the  little  intervale 
a  mile  or  more  distant,  where  my  mule  was  grazing. 
I  captured  it  without  difficulty,  and  was 
in  the  act  of  mounting  when  I  heard  a 
noise  as  of  a  world  rushing  to  ruin.  The 
earth  shook  beneath  my  feet,  and  the 
mule  trembled  with  terror.  I  knew  what 
it  meant.  I  sprang  to  his  back,  and 
spurred  him  recklessly  up  the  trail.  I  reached  the 
brow  of  the  declivity  that  overlooked  the  gulch  where 
I  had  labored.  I  need  not  describe  what  I  saw.  The 
face  of  the  mountain  to  the  west  had  disappeared,  and 
in  the  place  of  a  mighty  forest  was  a  broad  tract  of 
bare  rock.  The  Slide  had  gone  down  through  the 
gulch,  and  scoured  it  to  the  founda 
tion  ledges.  The  transformation  was 
complete.  Not  a  familiar  object  was 
left,  save  one.  On  a  cliff  fifty  feet 
above  the  spot  where  my  fortune  had 
been  found  and  lost  stood  Percussion, 
his  tail  trembling  with  excitement  and 
his  horns  lowered.  It  was  the  only 
opportunity  of  his  lif  e  that  had  passed 
unimproved.  I  called  to  him  to  follow  me,  but  he  re 
fused  to  budge.  Perhaps  he  thought  another  Slide 
would  occur,  or  had  a  duel  in  mind  for  the  morrow.  Be 
that  as  it  may,  I  left  him  to  his  reflections  and  his  en 
gagements,  and  little  thinking  that  I  should  ever  see 
him  again,  I  reined  my  mule  down  the  trail,  an  utterly 
despondent  man." 


110  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

In  spite  of  the  fact  that  we  were  listening  to  the 
story  of  a  misfortune  that  might  well  overwhelm  with 
despair  any  person  on  whom  it  had  fallen,  there  was 
not  a  sober  face  in  the  crowd  when  Mr.  Pepperell  had 
brought  us  to  that  point  of  his  narration  which  pre 
sented  him  to  us  in  the  most  pitiable  condition.  The 
awful  ruin  which  the  savage  Slide  had  wrought,  Per 
cussion  on  the  cliff  in  the  attitude  of  defiance,  the 
trembling  mule  and  the  woe-begone  rider  thus  bereft 
of  his  fortune  in  a  minute,  —  all  these  we  saw  as  if 
painted  in  striking  colors  on  a  canvas.  And  yet,  not 
a  face  in  our  group  showed  the  least  evidence  that  we 
felt  ourselves  in  the  presence  of  disaster. 

"  I  can  see,"  said  Mr.  Pepperell,  as  he  looked  at  our 
faces,  "I  can  see,  gentlemen,  that  you  soberly  realize 
the  extent  of  my  misfortunes,  and  appreciate  the  seri 
ousness  of  my  position.  I  was  busted,  I  tell  you,  for 
I  started  down  that  trail  without  a  dollar  in  my  pocket 
or  a  crust  in  my  saddle-bags.  And  yet  fortune  was 
nigh.  For  I  had  not  gone  a  mile  down  the  trail  when 
I  came  to  a  small  camp  in  which  I  found  not  only 
needed  refreshment  but  a  speculation  which  brought 
to  me  the  beginning  of  my  fortune. 

"  The  party  into  whose  camp  I  had  thus  fortunately 
stumbled  was  one  of  exploration  in  the  interest  of 
science,  and  was  headed  by  a  scientific  man  of  extraor 
dinary  zeal,  enormous  vanity,  vast  pretensions,  and 
devoid  of  common  sense. 

"  Now  if  there  is  one  class  of  men  I  venerate  more 
than  others,  it  is  the  scientific  class.  It  is  true  I  am 
not  given  over  much  to  veneration,  for  as  it  happens> 


THE    PATH    OF    THE    AVALANCHE. 


THE  CAPITALIST.  113 

by  some  arrangement  for  which  I  have  never  been 
able  to  feel  myself  responsible,  in  that  section  of  my 
cranium  where  by  rights  there  should  be  an  eminence, 
is  a  kind  of  prairie  flatness,  —  a  dead  level  as  it  were. 
It  is  consoling  to  think  that  I  am  not  answerable  for 
this  defect,  and  I  have  derived  great  satisfaction  in  my 
life  by  shuffling  it  off  upon  my  ancestors,  when  at  times 
conscience  rebuked  me  at  some  breach  of  decorum,  or 
most  inappropriate  burst  of  laughter. 

"  I  am  happy  to  reflect  that  pre-natal  influences  are 
answerable  for  the  major  part  of  my  weaknesses,  and, 
as  I  devoutly  hope,  for  the  majority  of  my  sins.  I  sin 
cerely  trust  that  they  will  be  punished  as  they  deserve. 
The  more  they  catch  it,  the  better  my  chances  appear. 
I  am  ready  to  accept  without  reserve  the  harshest 
dogmas  of  theology  so  long  as  they  have  no  applica 
tion  to  myself. 

"  Nevertheless,  in  spite  of  this  natural  defect  in  my 
make-up,  I  have  peculiar  feelings  toward  the  average 
devotee  of  science.  I  recognize  in  him  a  superior  crea 
tion.  He  is  the  only  being  I  have  ever  met  whose 
mind  seems  able  to  work  wholly  independent  of  facts. 
The  facility  with  which  he  invents  his  needed  theories 
fills  me  with  admiration,  and  the  audacity  of  his  imagi 
nation  in  supplying  himself  with  the  necessary  data  for 
his  conclusions  is  a  source  of  pleasant  surprise.  It 
delights  me  to  recall  that  the  most  noted  leaders  of 
science  were  certain,  a  few  centuries  ago,  that  the 
globe  was  as  flat  as  a  shingle ;  that  the  whirling  earth 
on  which  we  live  had  no  motion  ;  that  the  sun,  moon, 
and  stars  revolved  around  it  as  a  centre  and  sum  of  the 


114  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

great  universe  ;  that  the  blood  in  the  human  body  stood 
still ;  and  that  the  worthy  successors  of  these  teachers 
of  accurate  knowledge,  these  men  who  supplant  reli 
gion,  and  substitute  knowledge  for  faith  and  reason 
for  piety,  are  now  convinced  that  all  the  superficial 
phenomena  of  the  globe,  including,  of  course,  the  five 
Great  Lakes  of  this  continent,  are  accounted  for  by 
the  almost  imperceptible  and  trivial  movement  of  gla 
ciers.  Any  class  of  men  with  such  a  record  receive 
from  me  the  same  overwhelming  deference  which  I 
involuntarily  give  to  DeFoe,  and  the  author  of  the 
<  Arabian  Nights.'  I  yield  them  the  respect  and  ad 
miration  due  the  chiefest  romancers  of  the  race. 

"  I  had  no  sooner  reached  his  camp  than  the  man  of 
science  approached  me  and  made  known  his  mission, 
It  was  to  capture  a  specimen  of  the  genuine  Rocky 
Mountain  Goat. 

"  '  I  am  anxious,'  he  explained, f  to  obtain  possession, 
in  the  interest  of  science,  of  a  real  Caper  Horridus? 
in  order  that  I  may  not  only  acquire  indisputable 
knowledge  of  his  anatomical  structure,  but  fix  beyond 
peradventure,  —  and  upon  this,  sir,  learned  bodies  have 
most  differed,  —  what  are  his  characteristic  habits.  If 
you  can  assist  me  to  obtain  a  specimen,  you  will  not 
only  be  a  humble  instrument  of  extending  the  boun 
daries  of  scientific  research,  but  I  will  remunerate  you 
with  the  sum  which  has  been  put  at  my  disposal  by 
the  learned  body  of  men  whose  president  I  am,  namely, 
two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  in  gold.' 

"  I  trust,"  explained  Mr.  Pepperell,  humbly,  "  that 
Heaven  has  forgiven  me  for  the  duplicity  of  my  con- 


THE   CAPITALIST. 


115 


duct  at  that  juncture  of  my  fortunes.  It  was  a  dread 
ful  temptation.  You  can  see,  gentlemen,  that  it  was. 
I  was  busted.  The  gentleman  wanted  a  Caper  Horri 
dus.  I  knew  where  he  was.  He  was  a  genuine  Caper, 


that  I  knew,  and  as  for 
the  Horridus  part,  I 
felt  I  could  safely  leave 
it  for  the  man  of  sci 
ence  to  discover  for 
himself.  Had  I  reflect 
ed  I  might  have  acted 

o 

with  greater  innocence. 
But  as  it  was,  without 
an  instant's  hesitation, 

I  assured  the  man  of  science  that  I  knew  where  there 
was  a  genuine  Caper ;  a  veritable  Horridus  of  the 
crags,  and  that  I  could  lead  him  directly  to  his 
hahitat.  But  I  distinctly  declared  I  would  have  noth 
ing  to  do  with  the  capture  of  the  terrible  creature,  and 
that  I  must  be  paid  my  money  in  advance. 

"  The  man  of  science  was  delighted.  He  paid  me  the 
money  without  an  instant's  delay,  fearing  doubtless 
that  I  would  withdraw  my  offer  or  lift  my  price.  He 


116 


DAYLIGHT  LAND. 


',.,,  I,  'Ui''< 

%., 


assured  me  that  he  needed  no  assistance ;  that  science 
had  already  ascertained  that,  while  excessively  curious, 
the  Caper  Horridus  by  nature  was  harmless,  and  that 
no  hands  but  his  own  should  make  the  capture,  the 
fame  of  which  would  carry  his  name  round  the  world. 
"  You  can  see,  gentlemen,  that  in  the  case  of  two  per 
sons  animated  by  motives  which  inspired  both  of  us, 
there  was  no  reason  for  delay.  I  hitched  my  mule 
therefore  in  position  to  facilitate  mounting,  if,  as  I 
anticipated,  I  should  return  in  a  hurry,  and  with  the 
man  of  science  at  my  heels,  proceeded  directly  up  the 

trail.  I  did  not 
know  exactly 
where  I  should  find 
my  former  compan 
ion,  but  I  made  no 
doubt  that  the  old 
reprobate  was  still 
near  the  path  of 
the  Land  Slide, 
and  that  we  should 
find  him  in  a  bel 
ligerent  mood. 
And  sure  enough, 
we  had  not  gone 

more  than  two  thirds  the  distance,  when  looking  care 
fully  over  the  top  of  a  boulder,  standing  in  an  attitude 
of  listening  as  if  anticipating  another  Slide,  there  stood 
Percussion  ! 

"  Now  as  you  know,  gentlemen,  there  is  a  good  deal 
of  '  dynamite '  in  a  billy  goat.     It  won't  do  to  drop 


THE   CAPITALIST.  117 

on  to  one  suddenly  unless  you  wish  to  be  lifted.  Any 
man  who  runs  against  a  goat  suddenly  without  tele 
graphing  him  beforehand,  acts  as  if  his  business  educa 
tion  had  been  neglected.  For  a  goat  is  the  embodi 
ment  of  a  terrific  energy  when  aroused,  and  nothing 
starts  him  quicker  than  a  sudden  appearance.  Any 
man  who  approaches  him  without  circumspection  is 
liable  to  lose  some  part  of  himself,  as  it  were.  More 
than  one  man  has  lost  his  balance  and  his  self-respect 
by  such  carelessness.  Both  these  essentials  of  stand 
ing  and  character  are  apt  to  remain  absent  during  the 
entire  interview. 

"  A  goat  is  endowed  with  great  quickness  of  appre 
hension  and  he  acts  on  his  impulses.  When  a  goat  of 
the  masculine  gender  stands  and  gazes  at  you  with  a 
look  of  curious  deliberation  in  his  eyes,  you  will,  if  you 
are  a  rational  being,  promptly  pick  the  nearest  tree  and 
get  behind  it.  This  is  the  only  wise  course  to  adopt. 
Nor  should  you  be  slow  in  doing  this.  It  is  not  safe 
to  take  any  chances  with  a  billy  goat  if  he  is  within 
fifty  feet  of  you  and  has  in  his  own  mind  decided  to 
act.  You  cannot  rely  on  his  remaining  where  he  is 
any  considerable  length  of  time.  He  is  apt  to  move 
suddenly,  and  when  he  moves  he  always  moves  in  a 
straight  line,  and  with  his  objective  point  clearly  in 
view. 

"  To  know  a  goat  thoroughly,  gentlemen,  I  am  con 
vinced  that  a  man  should  begin  his  investigations  in 
childhood.  The  knowledge  needed  is  not  acquired 
readily  by  an  adult.  A  man  can  pilot  a  steamboat  bet 
ter  than  a  boy,  but  to  steer  a  goat  successfully  into  a 


118  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

paddock  without  any  back  action  of  the  paddles  is  a 
feat  at  which  a  boy  will  beat  his  father  every  time. 
The  innocent  sprightliness  of  early  life  is  an  essential 
element  of  success  in  such  an  undertaking.  A  deacon 
of  mature  age  and  dignity  of  character  might  do  it,  but 
he  would  never  be  fit  to  hold  his  office  after  he  had 
finished  the  job.  His  record  would  be  broken,  as  it 
were.  What  he  had  gained  in  fluency  of  expression 
he  would  have  lost  in  resignation  of  spirit  and  the 
sweet  placidness  of  his  vocabulary.  A  deacon  should 
always  leave  the  management  of  a  billy  goat  to  his 
hired  boy,  and  keep  out  of  hearing  when  the  boy  and 
the  goat  are  in  close  communication,  too.  Any  ma 
terial  departure  from  this  rule  will  always  result  in  un- 
happiness.  The  manners  of  the  goat  will  be  spoiled, 
and  the  deacon  —  if  the  matter  be  fully  reported  — 
will  surely  lose  his  office. 

"  A  goat  is  like  any  other  highly  organized  creation. 
He  learns  evil  fast  and  forgets  it  slowly.  He  is  a  crea 
ture  of  vanity,  and  relishes  success.  After  he  has 
learned  a  man's  anatomy  by  experiment,  the  knowledge 
is  fixed  in  his  mind  forever.  Time  may  obliterate  the 
impression  he  has  made  on  you,  but  it  never  obliterates 
the  impression  you  have  made  on  him.  Years  may 
pass ;  your  hairs  may  be  whiter  and  his  coarser,  but  if 
he  ever  gets  a  chance  to  hit  you  again,  your  years  and 
venerable  appearance  will  not  save  you.  The  old  rep 
robate  will  hit  you  in  the  same  spot.  I  have  never 
been  able  to  satisfactorily  explain  this  to  my  own  mind, 
but  the  fact  remains.  I  have  seen  it  demonstrated. 

"  Yes,  there  stood  Percussion.     I  ducked  my  head 


THE   CAPITALIST.  119 

and  beckoned  to  the  man  of  science.  He  bounded  to 
my  side,  and  shaking  with  excitement,  peered  over  the 
bowlder  at  him. 

"  '  A  Caper  Horridus  !  '  he  gasped.  '  A  genuine 
Caper !  A  true  Horridus ! '  he  exclaimed  hoarsely. 
'  Pedes,  nigri  ;  corni,  circuli  ;  caput,  cornutus  ;  ge 
nus,  hirsutus ;  habitus,  agilis ;  homino  amicus.9 
And  fumbling  in  his  pocket  for  his  note-book,  he 
dashed  around  the  bowlder  and  started  for  Percussion. 

"  I  cannot  describe  what  followed.  Percussion  was 
at  his  best  or  his  worst  that  morning.  He  had  missed 
one  great  opportunity,  and  was  in  no  mood  to  be 
trifled  with.  He  struck  the  man  of  science  at  the  pre 
cise  spot  selected  in  his  own  mind,  and  with  the  force 
of  a  catapult.  He  bowled  him  past  the  point  of  rock 
behind  which  I  was  crouched  as  if  he  had  been  a  pack- 
basket.  His  impetus  brought  him  within  sight  and  he 
came  at  me  as  if  I  was  a  land  slide. 

" (  You  miserable  cuss/  I  exclaimed,  *  don't  you 
know  your  benefactor?'  And  I  went  up  a  tree.  I 
yelled  to  the  man  of  science  to  light  out.  He  recov 
ered  his  breath  and  his  legs  at  the  same  time  and  rico- 
chetted  down  the  trail  as  if  fired  out  of  a  columbiad, 
yelling,  <  Caper  Horridus  ! '  '  Caper  Horridus  ! '  at  every 
jump. 

"  After  him  bounded  Percussion.  Without  an  instant 
of  hesitation  I  followed.  I  had  a  longing  to  get  on 
to  my  mule.  The  man  of  science  reached  the  edge 
of  the  camp  and  fell  flat,  and  Percussion  struck  a 
Chinook  Indian  in  a  way  to  increase  his  vocabulary. 
The  last  jump  I  made  carried  me  to  the  back  of  my 


120 


DAYLIGHT  LAND. 


mule,  and  I  tore  down  the  trail  with  my  heels  in  her 
flanks.  I  reached  the  banks  of  the  Thompson  and 
went  in  at  a  jump.  Half  across  the  flood  I  heard  a 
fusilade  and  I  knew  that  Percussion  had  at  last  struck 
a  land  slide." 

"  Rat  Portage,  gentlemen  !  "  called  the  conductor. 
"  Twenty  minutes  to  see  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  and 
the  great  flour  mill  at  Kewatin !  " 


CHAPTER   VII. 


A    JOLLY    CAMP    AT    RUSH    LAKE. 

"Nature's  prime  favorites  we  the  Pelicans, 
High-fed,  long-lived,  sociable  and  free." 

EAVENS  !  "  exclaimed  Mr.  Pepper- 
ell.  "  Judge,  look  at  those  prairie 
chickens  !  "  We  had  stepped  from 
the  cars  at  Winnipeg,  and  as  we 
struck  the  platform  we  found  our- 
"  selves  in  front  of  a  heap  of  grouse, 
—  a  hundred  in  number,  it  may  be,  —  big,  fat  birds? 
such  as  make  man  thankful  he  was  born  with  a  stom 
ach.  The  Judge  looked  at  the  birds.  There  was  a 
wistful  look  in  his  eyes.  His  lips  moved  as  if  the 
gamey  flavor  were  already  in  his  mouth.  He  rolled 
his  eyes  toward  me  longingly,  and  queried,  — 
"  Where  did  those  birds  come  from  ?  " 


122  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

"  From  Southern  Manitoba,"  I  answered  promptly. 
"  They  are  as  thick  as  grasshoppers  there." 

The  Man  from  New  Hampshire  had  been  fumbling 
at  the  birds,  as  if  examining  their  condition,  and  when 
he  lifted  one,  lo  !  there  was  a  tag  tied  to  its  foot,  and 
on  the  tag  was  penciled,  "  Colonel  Goffe,  New  Hamp 
shire." 

"  One  of  my  birds,  by  gosh  !  "  said  the  Colonel. 

"  Clean  from  your  farm,  eh,  Colonel  ? "  exclaimed 
Mr.  Pepperell. 

"  Certainly,"  returned  the  Colonel ;  "  flew  straight 
to  this  platform  and  dropped  dead.  Knew  I  was  to  be 
here.  I  '11  eat  him  to-night/'  and  he  passed  the  bird 
in  under  his  arm  between  his  coat  and  his  vest. 

"  My  conscience  !  My  conscience  !  "  groaned  the 
Judge,  as  if  wrestling  with  an  internal  enemy.  "  The 
gods  have  burdened  me  with  a  conscience." 

"  My  bird  !  My  bird  !  "  returned  the  New  Hamp 
shire  man,  groaning  in  imitation  of  the  Judge.  "  The 
gods  have  burdened  me  with  a  bird,"  and  he  started 
for  the  car. 

"  Halloo,  old  boy ! "  screamed  a  voice,  and  a  flat 
hand  smote  me  on  the  back.  "  Do  you  remember  the 
turkeys  in  Texas  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  I  answered,  as  I  wheeled,  "  and  that  the 
best  snap  shot  in  the  New  York  Gun  Club,  Jack  Os- 
good  by  name,  could  n't  hit  a  turkey  gobbler  at  fifty 
feet  as  he  went  through  the  live  oaks."  And  we  shook 
hands,  laughed,  and  roared,  as  two  sportsmen  will  when 
they  suddenly  meet,  with  years  between  them  and  some 
ludicrous  happening. 


A  JOLLY  CAMP  AT  RUSH  LAKE. 


123 


"Jack  Osgood, —  Judge  Doe,  —  Mr.  Pepperell,"  I 
said,  briefly  introducing  them.  "  We  shot  turkeys 
together  in  Texas/'  I  added. 

"  He  shot  them,  and  I  shot  at  them/' 
replied  Jack.  "  I  never  shall  forget 
how  I  felt  when  the  first  gobbler  got 
up  ahead  of  my  gun.  I  shook  till  my 
bones  rattled  ;  it  took  me  two  days  to 
sober  down  and  get  steady." 

"Did  you  shoot  those  birds  there, 
Mr.  Osgood  ?  "  asked  the  Judge. 

"  Certainly ;  every  one  of  them,  sir," 
answered  Jack.  "  I  dropped  them  for 
four  bags.  There  are  ninety-seven  all 
told.  If  you  want  any,  help  your 
selves,  gentlemen.  You  will  find  them 
good  broilers." 

"  Heaven  has  not  forsaken  me  !  " 
exclaimed  the  Judge,  as  he  fingered 
the  breast  of  a  chicken,  and  liking  the 
one  he  had  so  well,  he  took  another. 

"  I  'm  not  mean  enough  to  look  a  gift  horse  in  the 
mouth,  Judge,"  said  Mr.  Pepperell,  and  he  carelessly 
picked  up  three  chickens. 

"  Where  are  you  going,  Jack  ?  "  I  queried. 

"  I  am  going  to  Rush  Lake,  after  canvas-backs,"  re 
plied  Osgood. 

"  What  did  you  say,  Mr.  Osgood  ?  "  exclaimed  the 
Judge.  "  What  was  the  name  you  gave  to  the 
ducks?" 

"  Canvas-backs,  sir/'  answered  Jack. 


124  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

"  Gentlemen/'  exclaimed  the  Judge,  "  I  don't  know 
how  you  feel,  but  I  'm  tired  of  traveling.  This  steady 
rolling  shakes  up  a  man  of  my  age  terribly.  If  Mr. 
Osgood  will  permit,  I  will  go  to  Rush  Lake  with  him. 
I  feel  that  my  system  requires  several  days  of  absolute 
rest." 

"  I  dare  not  leave  you  to  go  alone,  Judge,"  cried 
the  Man  from  New  Hampshire,  who  was  leaning  from 
the  platform  of  the  car,  listening  to  what  the  Judge 
said.  "  Your  conscience  !  think  of  your  conscience. 
Where  did  you  get  those  two  chickens  f  "  and  he 
glared  at  the  Judge  enviously. 

And  so  it  was  arranged  that  we  should  all  drop  off 
at  Rush  Lake,  and  have  a  few  days  with  the  canvas- 
backs  and  the  white  pelicans,  and  we  started  out  under 
the  guidance  of  Osgood  to  get  together  our  supplies. 

"  Ten  years  ago,"  remarked  Mr.  Pepperell,  "  there 
were  not  a  hundred  white  people  here.  At  the  forks 
of  the  river  was  Old  Fort  Garry,  a  Hudson  Bay  Com 
pany's  post,  and  that  was  all.  To-day  there  is  a  city 
solidly  built  of  brick  and  stone,  with  a  population  of 
thirty  thousand.  It  is  necessary  to  see  such  changes 
with  our  eyes  to  appreciate  them." 

"It  looks  to  me  as  if  it  had  a  future,"  said  the 
Judge ;  "a  great  future." 

"  Decidedly,"  answered  Mr.  Pepperell.  "  This  is  to 
be  the  Prairie  City,  as  Vancouver  is  to  be  the  Coast 
City  of  the  country.  The  one  will  be  built  up  by  the 
inland  trade  ;  the  other  by  its  foreign  commerce." 

"  Winnipeg  will  have  rivals  to  the  west,  Mr.  Pep 
perell,  and  don't  you  forget  it  in  your  figuring,"  ob 
served  the  Man  from  New  Hampshire. 


A  JOLLY  CAMP  AT  RUSH  LAKE.  127 

"  I  don't  forget  it/'  returned  Mr.  Pepperell,  prompt 
ly.  "  I  have  counted  on  it.  But  Winnipeg  has  the 
start,  a  good  strong  start,  over  every  rival  to  the  west 
or  east.  Her  thoroughfares  are  constructed  ;  her  sys 
tem  of  lighting  in  operation  ;  her  water-works  pro 
vided  ;  her  public  buildings  erected ;  her  wholesale  and 
retail  houses  established,  and  her  trade  connections 
with  the  East  and  the  South  made,  Colonel  Goffe.  A 
financier  knows  the  value  of  such  a  start.  Winnipeg 
has  got  her  grip  on  the  country  round  about  her,  and 
it  will  take  an  earthquake  or  a  cyclone  to  loosen  it." 

And  so,  like  active-minded  Americans,  while  buying 
our  supplies  and  getting  together  our  outfit  for  the 
camp  at  Rush  Lake,  we  talked  of  the  future  of  Winni 
peg  and  figured  on  its  changes. 

If  there  are  prettier  bits  of  water  anywhere  than 
can  be  found  in  these  Western  prairies,  they  have  not 
been  discovered.  A  few  are  alkaline,  but  many  are 
fresh,  and  the  prairies  roll  down  in  billows  of  grass  to 
their  beaches  or  flatten  to  the  water  through  acres  of 
sedge.  Rush  Lake  is  well  named,  and  yet  it  is  not 
swampy  nor  sluggish ;  for  miles  of  its  shore  line  are 
embanked,  and  its  waters  are  lively.  From  these  banks 
the  prairie  rolls  away  in  waves  of  fine  verdure,  and  the 
eye  sweeps  unimpeded  to  the  rim  of  the  horizon.  Our 
tent  was  pitched  on  a  bank  which  brought  the  lake  in 
full  view,  and  over  it  the  air  moved  in  cool,  easy  cur 
rents.  It  was  an  ideal  camp  for  a  sportsman,  for  the 
free  water  was  speckled  with  ducks,  and  the  vast  reedy 
spaces  were  alive  with  their  movements. 

Canvas-backs,    mallards,    teal,    black    ducks,    wood 


128  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

ducks,  curlew,  the  big  plover,  and  those  wonders  of 
the  western  land,  the  huge  snow-white  pelicans,  whose 
wings  have  the  stretch  of  a  white-headed  eagle's,  and 
which  float  on  the  water  with  the  slow,  stately  move 
ment  of  swans,  —  all  were  here,  and  in  numbers  beyond 
counting.  On  the  prairie  were  coyotes,  gray  wolves, 
and  antelopes.  What  more  could  a  sportsman  desire 
than  such  a  camp  and  such  game? 

"  Heavens  !  "  cried  the  Judge,  "  was  there  ever  such 
music  ?  "  and  he  tumbled  off  his  cot. 

"  A  chorus  for  the  saints,"  replied  the  New  Hamp 
shire  man,  as  he  emerged  from  the  folds  of  a  buffalo 
robe  in  which  he  had  bestowed  himself  near  the  tent- 
pins  ;  and  in  less  than  a  minute  we  were  all  standing 
outside  of  the  tent  completing  our  toilet,  the  Judge 
with  one  boot  in  his  hand,  and  Mr.  Pepperell  discreetly 
wrapped  in  a  blanket.  What  a  morning  ! 

The  sun  had  not  yet  risen.  One  great  star,  a  globe 
of  liquid  luminance,  hung  in  the  eastern  sky.  Along 
the  horizon's  edge  ran  a  line  of  rose.  Above  it  were 
the  shifting  splendors  of  an  oriental  ruby.  The  west 
ern  heavens  were  still  blue  black.  The  prairie  grasses 
were  wet  with  dew,  and  every  drooping  point  sparkled 
like  a  gem.  The  air  was  motionless,  and  the  lake  from 
shore  to  shore  was  blanketed  with  white  fleece.  And 
out  of  this  fleece,  what  noises  came  !  The  flutter  of 
plumes  ;  the  spatter  of  playful  ducks  ;  the  pipe  of  cur 
lew  and  plover  ;  the  whiz  of  passing  wings ;  the  voice 
of  pelican  ;  the  honk  of  geese  ;  the  low  soft  sound 
of  feathery  life,  seeking,  feeding,  greeting,  filled  all  the 
air  with  murmurous  musical  sounds. 


A  JOLLY   CAMP  AT  RUSH  LAKE.  129 

"  Oh,  the  glory  of  the  world  !  —  the  glory  of  the 
world !  "  cried  the  Judge,  as  he  gazed  at  the  beauty 
and  breathed  the  pure  air  in. 

"  Oh,  the  glory  of  the  ducks  !  —  the  glory  of  the 
ducks  !  "  said  the  Man  from  New  Hampshire,  as  he 
listened  to  the  sounds  in  the  fog  and  thought  of  the 
broiled  grouse  that  he  ate  for  his  supper. 

"  Osgood,"  I  said,  "  did  a  sportsman  ever  hear 
sweeter  music  ?  " 

"  Never,"  he  responded,  "  unless  it  was  the  gobble 
of  a  wild  turkey  as  he  strutted  in  front  of  his  harem 
in  some  little  glade  among  the  cedar  groves  of  the 
Guadaloupe." 

"  Is  that  coffee  I  smell  ? "  queried  Mr.  Pepperell, 
suddenly. 

"  It  is,  by  the  powers  !  "  exclaimed  the  Judge,  and 
he  dove  through  the  door  of  the  tent  to  complete  his 
toilet. 

"  That  Judge  of  ours,"  said  the  Man  from  New 
Hampshire,  pointing  to  the  door  of  the  tent  as  he  dis 
appeared,  —  "  that  Judge  of  ours  is  a  good  deal  of  a 
poet,  but  he  has  a  well-balanced  mind  notwithstanding." 

"  Cook,"  called  the  Judge,  as  he  thrust  his  head  out 
of  the  tent  in  the  direction  of  the  kitchen.  "  Cook, 
how  soon  will  breakfast  be  ready?  " 

"  In  a  few  minits,  Marse  Judge,  in  a  few  minits," 
responded  the  darkey. 

"  Julius  Csesar  Bismarck  !  "  thundered  the  Judge. 
"  At  what  hour,  I  say,  will  you  have  breakfast  ready  ?  " 

"  Fo'  de  Lawd,  Marse  Judge,"  promptly  replied  the 
ebony  cross  between  ancient  and  modern  greatness, 
"  how  d'  you  s'pose  dis  nigger  knows  ?  " 


130  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

"  Oh  Lord !  "  groaned  the  Judge,  and  his  voice 
sounded  as  if  it  came  from  an  empty  cellar. 

"  Why  do  you  move  so  carefully  ?  "  asked  Mr.  Pep- 
perell  of  the  New  Hampshire  man,  as  ready  for  break 
fast  we  went  out  of  the  tent. 

"  Sh  !  "  returned  the  Man  from  New  Hampshire. 
"  If  I  don't  move  carefully  the  Judge  will  hear  me 
rattle." 

With  the  dawn  the  lake  shore  near  us  had  been  em 
bellished  with  a  most  romantic  arrival.  A  tribe  of  the 
Blackfeet  Nation  had  come  in  from  the  plains  and 
gone  into  camp.  Twenty-six  large,  fine-looking  Te 
pees  were  stretched  in  a  row  to  the  east  and  north  of 
our  tent,  and  some  hundred  and  fifty  Indian  men, 
women,  and  children  were  grouped  round  their  camp- 
kettles  or  moving  about  at  their  work.  Here  and 
there  stood  knots  of  men  picturesquely  draped  in  their 
blankets  of  high  colors.  These  Indians  were  not  vaga 
bonds,  nor  sots ;  they  were  not  bloated  with  liquor,  nor 
broken  down  with  disease ;  they  were  not  dirty  or  repul 
sive  to  the  eye  ;  they  were  fine,  healthy-looking  people. 
The  men  were  tall  and  well  formed,  the  boys  sprightly 
in  their  motions.  The  squaws  did  not  look  like  drudges 
or  human  beasts  of  burden,  but  like  women  of  bronze 
skin,  living  the  life  and  doing  the  work  of  aboriginals ; 
they  were  all  comfortably  clothed,  and  some  of  the 
girls  were  finely  formed  and  unmistakably  handsome. 
There  was  not  a  half-breed  among  them.  It  was  a 
camp  of  full-blooded  Indians  of  the  plains. 

"  Gentlemen,"  said  the  Judge,  "  if  I  ever  lose  my 
appetite  I  shall  come  to  Rush  Lake." 


A  JOLLY  CAMP  AT  RUSH  LAKE.  133 

"  If  Canada  ever  loses  Rush  Lake,  then/'  retorted 
the  Man  from  New  Hampshire,  "  I  shall  know  where  to 
look  for  it ; "  and  he  measured  with  his  eye  the  front 
elevation  of  the  Judge. 

"  Gentlemen/'  exclaimed  the  Judge,  ignoring  the 
remark  of  the  New  Hampshire  man,  "  I  wish  it  under 
stood  that  this  is  a  camp  of  sportsmen,  and  not  pot 
hunters.  We  are  not  here  to  make  money,  but  to 
spend  it ;  not  to  supply  the  market,  but  ourselves  with 
game,  and  therefore  I  move  that  we  act  like  true  sports 
men,  and  fix  the  size  of  our  bags  each  day  by  mutual 
agreement.  Friends  should  be  remembered,"  contin 
ued  the  Judge,  "  and  I  suggest  that  each  man  be  per 
mitted  to  kill  a  certain  number  of  ducks  for  himself, 
and  a  certain  number  to  send  to  his  friends." 

"  I  move,"  suggested  Mr.  Pepperell,  "  that  every 
man  be  permitted  to  shoot  twelve  ducks  and  two  peli 
cans  during  the  week  for  himself." 

"What  about  plover  and  curlew?"  queried  Osgood. 

"  They  don't  count,"  decided  the  Judge.  "  You 
can  bag  all  you  can." 

"  Don't  count !  "  exclaimed  the  Man  from  New 
Hampshire.  "  That  decision  would  n't  stand  a  minute 
in  the  highest  court.  I  know  a  man  in  Texas  who 
started  in  to  eat  fifty-six  curlew,  and  when  he  got  to 
the  forty-second  he  dropped  "  — 

"  Stop  right  there,  sir,"  said  the  Judge,  shaking  his 
finger  at  the  Colonel.  "  Stop  right  there  !  The  court 
hasn't  forgotten  your  story  of  the  Japanese  screen. 
The  number  being  settled  that  each  man  may  shoot  for 
himself,  it  only  remains  for  us  to  decide  how  many 
he  may  be  allowed  to  shoot  for  his  friends." 


134  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

"  I  would  like  to  shoot  a  dozen  a  day  for  my  friends," 
said  Mr.  Pepperell.  "  The  station  is  n't  a  mile  away, 
and  we  can  start  them  east  every  evening." 

"  That  will  do  for  me,"  added  Osgood,  cheerfully. 
"  If  it  gets  a  little  dull,  I  '11  try  my  hand  at  the  ante 
lopes  and  the  wolves." 

"  I  'm  not  a  shot-gun  man,  and  will  live  on  your 
bounty,"  I  remarked.  "  If  you  '11  give  my  Winchester 
a  pelican  each  day,  and  full  swing  at  the  wolves  and 
coyotes,  I  shall  have  a  royal  time." 

"  Well,  sir,"  queried  the  Judge  of  the  Colonel, 
"  how  many  do  you  want  for  your  friends  ?  " 

"  I  have  n't  an  enemy  in  the  State,"  said  the  Man 
from  New  Hampshire,  "  and  by  the  last  census  "  — 

"  Colonel  Goffe  !  "  interrupted  the  Judge,  sternly, 
"  the  court  will  not  be  trifled  with.  How  many  do  you 
want  for  your  friends?  " 

"  Well,  as  I  was  saying,"  said  the  Colonel,  "  I 
have  n't  an  enemy  in  the  State  of  New  Hampshire,  and 
the  last  census  fixed  the  population  at  three  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand.  Of  this  number  only  seventy 
thousand  are  voters.  I  would  n't  give  a  duck  to  a 
Democrat  if  I  died  for  it,  so  we  can  chalk  off  "  — 

"  Colonel  Goffe,"  thundered  the  Judge,  "  the  court 
does  not  propose  to  sit  on  this  camp-stool  all  day,  and 
if  you  don't  come  down  "  — 

"  Oh,  very  well,  very  well,"  cried  the  Colonel,  "  it  is 
not  good  politics  to  leave  out  New  Hampshire  in  any 
close  election,  but  let  her  go.  Outside  of  New  Hamp 
shire  I've  only  one  friend.  I  picked  him  up  this 
morning ;  he  's  herding  the  Indian  ponies  out  there, 


A  JOLLY   CAMP  AT   RUSH   LAKE. 


135 


and  he  looked  to  me  as  if  he  had  n't  had  duck  for 
some  time,  and  that  he  would  prove  mighty  elastic 
when  he  got  duck  "  — 

66  Gentlemen/'  exclaimed  the 
Judge,  interrupting  the  Colo 
nel,  "  our  friend  from  New 
Hampshire  has  suggested  a 
most  amiable  settlement  of  the 
question.  We  will  abide  by 
our  ruling,  and  the  Colonel 
shall  be  free  to  shoot  as  many 
ducks  as  he  can  for  the  In 
dians."  And  with  this  deci 
sion  we  all  arose,  well  pleased, 
and  went  for  our  guns. 

Now  the  Man  from  New 
Hampshire  was  a  wag,  dry  as 
seasoned  hickory.  Luck  inva 
riably  assists  such  a  man  when 
bent  on  a  joke,  and  luck  had 
assisted  this  gray-headed  joker 
to  such  an  armament  as  many 
readers  of  this  book,  I  am 
sure,  never  saw.  In  a  gun- 
shop  at  Winnipeg,  he  had 
found  an  old-fashioned  flintlock,  known  among  our 
forefathers  as  a  king's  arm.  It  was  of  monstrous  bore, 
thick  at  the  breech  and  thin  at  the  muzzle ;  with  a 
strong  stock  mounted  heavily  in  solid  brass,  and  an 
iron  ramrod.  The  flint  was  half  the  size  of  a  small  fire 
shovel,  while  the  pan  was  as  large  as  an  iron  spoon. 


136  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

It  was  a  venerable  relic  of  former  days  and  men  ;  a 
murderous  old  gun,  if  you  had  shot  and  powder 
enough  to  charge  it  properly,  and  you  could  ever  get 
it  off ;  but  most  eccentric  and  unreliable  in  its  habits. 
The  gun  was  apparently  strong  as  ever,  and  as  to  its 
barrel,  in  good  repair,  but  the  lock  was  lashed  to  its 
place  by  stout  leather  thongs,  and  unless  the  powder 
was  coarse,  the  grains  would  leak  through  between  the 
barrel  and  the  pan  into  the  recess  where  the  springs 
and  tumbler  were  located.  The  spectacle  which  the 
Colonel  presented  when  he  stood  equipped  for  the  day, 
—  a  big  powder  horn  with  a  wooden  stopple  under  his 
elbow,  one  pocket  sagging  with  shot,  the  other  stuffed 
full  of  oakum  and  paper  for  his  wadding,  the  old  gun 
in  his  hand,  and  a  white  bell-crowned  hat  on  his  head, 
which  he  had  found  by  the  same  luck  that  got  him 
his  gun,  was  of  so  funny  a  sort  that  the  camp  roared 
with  laughter.  But  the  Colonel  took  the  jokes  that  we 
fired  at  him  with  imperturbable  gravity,  and  we  knew 
that  if  ever  he  did  get  that  old  gun  off,  and  there 
were  any  ducks  in  the  landscape  within  range,  the 
Indian  encampment  would  be  fed  full  to  feasting. 

In  less  than  an  hour  each  of  us  had  his  bag  except 
the  Colonel.  "  For  some  unexplainable  reason,"  as  he 
stated,  he  had  been  "  unable  to  get  the  old  thing  off." 
But  he  assured  us  he  had  confidence  in  his  piece,  and 
that  sooner  or  later  the  world  would  hear  from  him. 
There  was  not  one  of  us  that  did  not  admire  both  his 
courage  and  perseverance,  for  he  stood  bravely  up  be 
hind  the  old  mortar  and  pulled  the  trigger  at  every 
duck  that  came  by. 


A  JOLLY  CAMP  AT  RUSH  LAKE.  137 

"  Lord  !  "  said  the  Judge,  "  what  would  become  of 
the  Colonel  if  the  old  thing  should  go  off  ?  "  So  we 
patiently  trailed  in  the  rear  of  his  canoe  in  response  to 
the  Colonel's  exhortation,  "  to  stand  by  the  institution 
of  the  fathers."  Advice  and  interrogations  were  rained 
upon  him.  The  Judge  wanted  to  know  "  if  he  had 
loaded  every  time  he  snapped,  and  if  he  knew  how 
many  charges  there  were  in  the  piece  ?  "  Mr.  Pep- 
perell  inquired  "  if  he  had  powder  enough  to  keep  on 
priming  for  the  rest  of  the  day  ?  "  And  Osgood  sug 
gested  that  we  each  "  take  our  turn  and  spell  him  at 
pulling  the  trigger." 

Meanwhile,  as  we  had  stopped  shooting,  the  ducks 
had  settled  thicker  and  thicker,  till  the  water  was 
black  and  the  sedge  was  full  of  feathers,  and  the  Colo 
nel  worked  away  at  the  ancient  bit  of  machinery  with 
redoubled  vigor.  He  who  says  that  the  age  of  miracles 
has  passed  is  an  idiot,  for  that  old  gun  finally  went 
off  —  went  off  at  an  opportune  moment  too,  for  the 
canoe  was  wedged  into  the  sedge,  the  Colonel  well 
braced,  and  the  air  filled  with  ducks.  Granted  the  air 
black  with  birds ;  an  old  king's  arm  charged  with  a 
gill  or  more  of  coarse  shot,  and  a  man  from  New 
Hampshire  squinting  grimly  over  the  breech-pin,  and 
there  could  be  but  one  result,  or  rather  three  results. 
The  gun  jumped  out  of  his  hands,  the  Colonel  sat  down 
in  the  boat  with  a  crash,  and  ducks  fell  by  the  dozen. 
It  was  a  monstrous  bag  in  truth,  and  the  Colonel  took 
the  honors  of  the  day  and  week,  for  while  he  averaged 
less  than  five  shots  a  day,  still  the  totals  beat  every 
gun  in  the  crowd.  One  thing  is  sure,  the  Indians  who 


138 


DAYLIGHT  LAND. 


camped  with  us  on  Rush  Lake  that  week  will  never 
forget  that  old  flintlock  gun  or  the  Man  from  New 
Hampshire,  nor  shall  we  who  were  there  ever  forget 
the  sport  and  the  fun. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

BIG    GAME. 

HAVE  hunted  every  kind  of  game  be 
tween  the  Southern  Gulf  and  Great 
Slave  Lake/'  replied  Mr.  Osgood,  in 
answer  to  an  interrogation  from  Colo 
nel  Goffe,  as  we  were  sitting,  one  even 
ing,  in  front  of  our  tent  at  Rush  Lake, 
"  and  I  can  give  you  as  much  or  as  little  information 
as  you  wish  on  the  subject  of  big  or  little  game,  bird 
or  beast.  Twenty  years  ago  the  big  game  of  the  con 
tinent  could  be  found  north  or  south  of  the  interna 
tional  line,  and  even  ten  years  back  good  hunting  could 
be  had  in  several  of  our  States  and  Territories,  but 
to-day  he  who  wishes  to  find  game  of  the  larger  sort. 


140  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

many  kinds  and  plenty  of  it,  must  come  over  on  this 
side  of  the  line  and  hunt  northward." 

"  What  do  you  mean  by  northward,  Jack? "  I  asked. 
"  How  far  north  have  you  hunted  ?  " 

66  Six  hundred  miles  at  least,  perhaps  eight,"  he  an 
swered.  "  Last  summer  I  started  from  Calgary  with  a 


comrade,  and  fetched  a  trail  on  horseback  well  down 
into  the  great  Mackenzie  Basin.  The  Mackenzie,  you 
know,  is  a  mighty  river,  bigger  than  the  Mississippi, 
they  say,  and  the  country  it  drains  is  an  empire  in  it 
self." 

"  That  is  a  long  way  to  go  for  a  hunt,  Jack,"  I  said, 
interrupting  him. 

"  You  and  I  trailed  farther  than  that  south  and 
west,"  he  retorted  pleasantly.  "  But  you  must  re 
member,  gentlemen,  that  from  the  hour  you  leave  Cal- 


WHITE   TAJL   DEER. 


BIG  GAME.  143 

gary  you  are  in  good  sporting  country.  We  hugged 
the  f oot-hiUs  from  tho  start,  and  we  had  bighorn,  goats, 
bear,  antelopes,  and  wolves  with  which  to  amuse  our 
selves.  Then  you  must  remember  that  we  were  in  the 
saddle,  and  trailing  through  a  most  lovely  country, 
without  weariness  and  at  no  burdensome  expense,  push 
ing  up  into  a  strange  region  known  only  to  the  Indians 
and  the  Hudson  Bay  Post  folk,  through  an  atmosphere 
pure  and  bracing  as  men  ever  rode  in.  I  assure  you 
that  had  I  not  fired  my  rifle  from  beginning  to  end  of 
it,  that  two  months'  trail  would  have  been  most  enjoy 
able." 

"  What  is  the  character  of  the  soil  and  climate  in 
this  North  Land  of  yours,  Mr.  Osgood  ?  "  queried  the 
Judge. 

"  The  soil  is  as  rich  as  any  on  the  continent,"  an 
swered  Jack,  "  and  the  climate  simply  perfect.  It  is 
milder  than  it  is  here,  or  even  in  Dakota  or  Minnesota. 
Wheat  can  be  sown  earlier  —  three  weeks  earlier,  I 
should  think  —  than  at  the  national  line.  The  days 
are  longer,  and  the  cereal  growths  get  the  benefit  of 
the  prolonged  solar  light ;  a  great  benefit,  I  can  assure 
you,  it  is  in  bringing  a  crop  along  fast.  At  the  north 
ern  part  of  my  trail  I  could  read  a  newspaper  at  mid 
night  without  the  aid  of  candle  or  moon.  It  is  Day 
light  Land  up  there,  and  so  it  might,  in  truth  as  well 
as  in  poetry,  be  called." 

"  That  is  a  beautiful  name,"  cried  the  Judge  enthu 
siastically.  "  A  beautiful  name  !  Daylight  Land  !  That 
is  n't  much  like  the  popular  conception  of  Canada, 
which  pictures  it  as  the  home  of  Ice  and  of  Night.  I 


144  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

verily  believe  that  half  the  world  thinks  of  Canada  as 
a  cold,  desolate  country  the  year  round." 

"  The  world  knows  nothing  about  Canada  as  a 
whole,"  Jack  replied  warmly.  "  Nor  do  Canadians  in 
general  know  anything  of  their  own  country.  They 
are  not  travellers,  as  we  Yankees  are.  The  old  French 


stock  were  great  wanderers  and  explorers,  but  their 
descendants  are  stay-at-homes.  The  old-time  French 
Canadians  went  everywhere.  The  grandsire  was  a 
voyageur ;  his  descendants  to-day  are  only  habitans. 
He  fed  his  sinews  on  the  game  of  the  whole  continent. 
These  eat  pease  and  garlic  at  home.  The  fact  is  Can 
ada  knows  less  of  herself  than  she  did  a  century  and 
a  half  ago.  She  is  absolutely  engaged  in  rediscover 
ing  her  own  geography.  The  same  thing  is  happening 


BIG  GAME.  145 

in  Canada,  touching  her  great  rivers,  lakes,  and  fertile 
plains,  as  happened  in  Italy  in  respect  to  Pompeii  and 
Herculaneum.  They  are  being  uncovered  and  brought 
to  the  light.  They  have  lain  buried  under  a  huge  de 
posit  of  ignorance,  and  are  now  being  exhumed.  There 
are  a  dozen  American  sportsmen  I  could  mention  who 
know  more  about  Canada  than  the  Geographical  De 
partment  at  Ottawa." 

"  Why,  Jack,"  I  exclaimed,  "  you  are  quite  an  ora 
tor.  The  Canadian  government  ought  to  put  you  on  a 
salary  to  write  their  advertising  literature  and  make 
immigration  speeches." 

"  You  can  laugh  as  much  as  you  like,"  returned 
Jack  with  good-natured  earnestness,  "  but  you  know  I 
am  right,  for  you  know  as  much  of  this  great  country  as 
I  do,  and  perhaps  more.  I  wish  our  countrymen  would 
learn  the  facts  about  this  huge  empire  of  opportunity 
to  the  north  of  them,  or  that  the  Canadians  had  know 
ledge  of  it  themselves,  faith  in  it,  and  the  right  con 
nections  with  us.  Then  you  would  see  this  western 
land  jump  to  the  front  of  continental  observation." 

"  I  don't  see  where  the  immigration  is  to  be  found  to 
people  this  vast  country,"  said  Colonel  Goffe.  "  The 
United  States  have  thus  far  preempted  the  immigra 
tion  possibilities  of  the  world,  and  stand  intermediate 
between  the  great  western  movement  of  population 
which  signalizes  our  age,  and  this  country,  and  I  can't 
see  how  this  Canada  of  the  west  and  northwest  is  ever 
to  be  peopled.  A  goodly  number  of  English  and  Scotch 
are  already  here,  but  it  will  take  many  years  of  such 
slow  additions  to  people  these  vast  areas  which  stretch 
west  and  north  from  this  spot." 


146  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

"  The  people  to  populate  this  country,"  said  Jack, 
"  are  coining  from  Great  Britain,  the  north  of  Europe, 
and  perhaps  from  the  States.  Americans  as  well  as 
Europeans  should  possess  this  land.  This  country  is 
agricultural,  and  in  a  few  years  a  great  agricultural 
movement  from  the  States  northward  is  likely  to  take 


place.  Our  tent  is  pitched  at  the  centre  of  the  wheat 
area  of  the  continent.  Five  hundred  miles  to  the  north 
and  as  far  to  the  south  from  where  we  sit,  and  a  thou 
sand  miles  east  and  west,  measure  what  I  call  the  great 
wheat  square  of  the  continent.  Here  is  pure  water,  a 
perfect  climate,  cheap  fuel,  and  a  soil  that  produces 
forty  bushels  of  prime  wheat  to  the  acre.  As  the  soil 
to  the  south  under  our  silly  system  of  agriculture  be 
comes  exhausted,  as  it  soon  will  be,  and  the  average 
yield  per  acre  shrinks  more  and  more,  the  wheat  grow- 


BIG  GAME.  147 

ers  must  and  will  move  northward.  This  movement  is 
sure  to  come.  It  is  one  of  the  fixed  facts  of  the  fu 
ture  ;  it  is  born  of  an  agricultural  necessity,  and  when 
it  begins  to  move  it  will  move  in  with  a  rush.  A 
million  of  American  wheat  farmers  ought  to  be  in  this 
country  inside  of  ten  years,  and  I  believe  that  within 
that  time  population  will  pour  in  and  spread  over  these 
Canadian  plains  like  a  tide." 

"  Jack  Osgood,"  I  exclaimed,  "  you  are  the  same 
sanguine  theorist  that  you  were  eight  years  ago.  You 
came  to  Texas  to  shoot  turkeys  for  a  month,  and  before 
half  the  month  had  passed  you  bought  twenty  thou 
sand  acres  of  land." 

"  So  I  did,"  he  rejoined,  "  and  I  beg  you  to  remem 
ber  that  I  paid  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  per 
acre,  and  that  I  sold  out  last  year,  as  you  know,  for 
eight  dollars  and  fifty  cents  per  acre.  It  pays  to  be  a 
theorist  in  an  age  and  country  like  this." 

"  Mr.  Osgood,"  said  the  Man  from  New  Hampshire, 
"I  am  convinced  that  you  and  I  are  adapted  to  do 
business  as  partners.  If  you  can  select  twenty  thou 
sand  acres  anywhere  around  here  that  look  as  those 
twenty  thousand  you  bought  in  Texas  did,  I  will  go 
halves  with  you,  and  we  will  stake  out  a  city  near  the 
centre  of  the  section  at  once." 

"  Come,  come,"  I  said  when  the  laughter  had  sub 
sided,  "  have  done  with  this  enthusiastic  forecast  and 
your  speculative  talk,  and  tell  me  about  the  big  game, 
as  you  promised  to  do  at  the  start.  How  far  north  did 
you  go,  Jack,  and  what  did  you  find  in  the  way  of 
game  ?  " 


148  DAYLIGHT   LAND. 

"  I  went  as  far  as  the  Great  Slave  Lake.  The  shores 
of  this  lake  are  the  favorite  haunt  of  the  musk  ox,  and 
I  wanted  to  get  some  of  the  strange-looking  creatures. 
You  can  find  them  on  all  the  upper  tributaries  of  the 
Mackenzie  River.  A  musk  ox  is  a  sizable  game,  for  the 
males  weigh  four  or  five  hundred  pounds,  and  the 


females  nearly  as  much.  They  are  about  eight  feet 
long  and  four  high,  and  have  a  dark  amber-colored 
coat.  In  the  fall  of  the  year  they  grow  a  very  fine 
wool.  They  have  a  flat  frontal,  and  the  horns,  which 
are  very  large  at  the  base,  grow  out  of  the  top  of  the 
skull  close  to  each  other,  and  curve  downward  on  either 
side  of  the  head,  but  turn  sharply  upward  some  six 
inches  from  the  ends,  and  are  finely  pointed.  They  seem 
to  me  to  resemble  a  sheep  more  than  an  ox,  but  they  do 


PRONG    HORN   ANTELOPE. 


BIG  GAME.  151 

not  have  the  cry  of  a  sheep  or  goat,  but  make  a  noise 
like  to  the  snort  of  a  walrus.  They  signal  danger 
by  stamping  like  a  buck,  or  by  striking  their  horns 
against  the  horns  of  others  standing  near.  They  are 
courageous,  and  fight  savagely.  Even  bears  are  killed 
by  them.  The  calf  is  a  feeble  thing,  and  can't  follow 
the  mother  for  a  month  or  more  after  birth.  The 
mothers  hide  their  calves  very  cunningly,  and  protect 
them  with  the  utmost  affection.  They  feed  on  grasses, 
mosses,  and  browse,  and .  their  flesh  tastes  very  like 
moose-meat  or  venison,  only  it  is  of  a  coarser  grain. 
They  are  shy,  and  keep  sentinels  well  out  from  the 
herd  when  feeding,  and  hence  it  is  good  sport  to  stalk 
them.  I  spent  a  week  hunting  them,  and  had  good 
success ;  but  I  had  more  enjoyment  in  watching  them 
and  studying  their  habits  than  in  killing  them,  for 
after  I  had  collected  a  few  specimen  skins  I  had  no 
motive  to  kill  farther." 

"  That 's  right,"  said  the  Judge.  "  Boys  are  mur 
derous  chaps  with  the  gun,  but  when  a  man  has  shot  a 
few  years  he  begins  to  shoot  less  and  study  more,  and 
finds  more  pleasure  in  learning  than  in  killing.  A  true 
sportsman  becomes,  as  he  grows  in  years  and  skill,  more 
and  more  a  naturalist,  and  receives  more  pleasure  from 
the  living  knowledge  he  acquires  than  the  dead  game 
he  bags." 

"  The  caribou  are  very  plenty  in  the  north,"  re 
sumed  Jack.  "  There  are  two  varieties,  the  woodland 
and  the  barren-ground  caribou.  They  are  found  in 
large  herds  around  Athabaska  Lake  and  southward  of 
Hudson's  Bay  to  Lake  Superior.  I  need  not  describe 


152  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

them  to  you,  for  you  have  all,  doubtless,  seen  them. 
In  summer  they  come  from  the  far  north,  and  feed 
around  James's  Bay.  The  caribou  are  good  game,  for 
it  takes  skill,  patience,  and  physical  endurance  to  stalk 
one  successfully.  When  he  finds  himself  hunted,  he 
travels  with  a  low  head,  his  antlers  well  back,  and 


keeps  his  body  close  to  the  ground.  I  followed  one  on 
the  Nelson  River  four  days  before  I  captured  him,  and 
he  came  near  bagging  me  instead  of  I  him,  for  I  only 
wounded  him,  and  he  charged  at  me  like  an  elephant. 
The  barren-ground  caribou  is  not  much  known,  I  fancy, 
among  the  sportsmen  of  the  States.  They  are  much 
smaller  than  the  woodland  species,  weighing  only  about 
one  hundred  pounds  when  dressed.  They  are  very 
plenty  in  the  Great  Slave  and  Athabaska  Lake  region. 
Small  as  they  are,  their  antlers  are  much  larger  than 


BIG  GAME.  153 

those  of  the  larger  species.  They  have  more  branches 
on  them,  and  are  far  handsomer.  In  summer  they  are 
a  reddish  brown,  but  in  winter  almost  snow  white. 
The  skin  tans  finely,  becoming  very  soft  and  white, 
and  is  used  for  tents  and  garments.  Their  flesh  is 
excellent,  and  the  fat  on  the  rump  is  highly  prized  as  a 
great  delicacy  by  the  Indians  and  French  voyageurs. 
It  is  not  difficult  to  stalk  them,  as  they  are  not  shy 
as  is  the  larger  kind,  and  hence  it  is  not  much  sport 
to  hunt  them.  I  have  seen  a  hundred  or  more  in  a 
herd." 

"  Are  the  buffalo  actually  gone,  Mr.  Osgood  ? " 
queried  the  Judge. 

"  I  saw  three  within  fifty  miles  of  Calgary,  last 
year,"  Jack  answered.  "  I  did  not  kill  them,  of  course. 
I  dare  say  they  have  been  killed  since.  I  have  a  feel 
ing  that  a  few  might  yet  be  found  by  searching  among 
the  foot-hills  northwest  of  us,  and  I  saw  a  living  trail 
last  summer  in  the  Peace  River  country,  but  the  buffalo 
of  the  plains  is  practically  an  extinct  animal.  There 
is  a  family  or  tribe  of  buffalo,  known  as  the  wood  buf 
falo,  to  the  north  of  us,  however." 

"  I  never  heard  of  them  before,"  remarked  Mr. 
Pepperell. 

"  Very  likely,"  said  Jack.  "  I  never  did  until  I 
heard  of  them  from  the  Indians  north  of  Edmonton 
last  year.  There  are  not  more  than  a  thousand  all 
told,  perhaps,  but  they  are  noble  animals,  and  the 
sportsman  that  captures  one  has  a  trophy  of  which  he 
may  well  be  proud.  The  wood  buffalo  is  much  larger 
and  handsomer  than  his  brother  of  the  plains.  His. 


154 


DAYLIGHT  LAND. 


hair  is  finer,  and  his  great  size  makes  him  a  nobler  ob 
ject  to  look  at.  He  lives  wholly  in  the  forest,  and  is 
very  wild  and  hard  to  get  at.  But  a  real  sportsman 
would  gladly  ride  a  thousand  miles  to  get  a  good  shot 
at  one.  I  have  two  skins  at  home,  and  I  prize  them  as 
trophies  of  the  chase  beyond  any  others  that  twenty 
years  of  hunting  all  over  the  continent  have  given 
me." 


66  Are  there  many  Rocky  Mountain  goats  in  this 
Canadian  country  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  Plenty  of  them  everywhere  in  the  mountains,"  he 
answered.  "  South  of  the  national  line  they  are  not 
very  plenty,  but  as  you  travel  northward  they  become 
more  and  more  numerous.  You  will,  I  presume,  see 
them  from  the  car  window  as  you  ride  along,  once  you 
get  into  the  mountain  section  to  the  west  of  us.  I  see 
they  have  been  represented  as  very  shy  and  difficult  to 


BIG   GAME.  155 

stalk,  by  a  prominent  sportsman  of  the  States.  I  have 
not  found  this  to  be  the  case  after  I  had  studied  their 
habits  and  character  a  little.  The  first  thing  to 
remember  in  stalking  a  white  goat  is  that  he  is  by 
nature  a  most  curious  animal.  His  bump  of  inquisi- 
tiveness  is  excessively  large.  You  must  not  attempt 
to  stalk  him  too  much.  You  must  let  him  stalk  you. 
If  you  move  he  will  see  you,  and  away  he  goes  at  a 
bound ;  but  if  you  don't  move,  but  remain  hidden  and 
expose  something  to  his  sight  that  he  does  not  under 
stand,  and  exercise  patience,  it  is  ten  to  one  that  in 
half  an  hour  you  have  drawn  him  within  range.  In 
deed,  the  true  rule  in  any  form  of  hunting  is  to  move 
very  little  and  very  slowly,  or  not  at  all.  The  adage 
that  '  luck  comes  to  the  man  who  won't  go  after  it/  is 
especially  verified  in  stalking.  I  have  killed  more 

game  by  sitting  still  than  by  tramping  or  riding  after 

•  i  j> 
it. 

"  In  the  second  place  I  made  a  very  interesting  dis 
covery,  and  I  made  it  by  accident,  one  day.  I  was 
stalking  a  fine  old  billy  goat  in  the  mountains  north  of 
Bow  River  with  a  comrade,  a  green  man,  who  did  n't 
seem  to  have  an  eye  in  his  head.  The  game  was  above 
me,  half  a  mile  away,  perhaps,  and  I  was  moving  up 
with  the  utmost  circumspection,  when  to  my  dismay 
I  saw  my  comrade  suddenly  emerge  from  the  scrub 
five  hundred  feet  above  the  old  fellow,  and  walk  care 
lessly  along  in  full  view.  I  was  not  surprised  that  my 
friend  did  not  see  the  goat,  for  I  doubt  if  he  would 
have  seen  an  elephant  twenty  rods  in  front  of  him,  but 
I  was  surprised  that  the  goat  did  n't  see  him,  for  he 


156  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

was  a  foxy  old  chap,  and  kept  his  eyes  open.  And 
then  it  was  that  I  suddenly  made  a  discovery,  —  a  dis 
covery  which  made  goat-stalking  easy  to  me  after  that, 
—  which  was  that  a  goat  never  expects  danger  from 
above,  but  always  from  below,  and  that  to  stalk  a 
mountain  where  goats  are,  successfully,  the  stalker 
should  work  downward  from  the  top,  and  not  upward 
from  the  base. 

66  It  is  just  the  same  with  big  horn  sheep,  as  they  are 
called.  They  should  be  stalked  from  above.  They 
have  a  wide  range,  for  I  have  shot  them  in  Southern 
California  and  in  the  Great  Bear  Lake  region.  They 
are  not  confined  to  the  mountains,  as  is  generaUy  sup 
posed.  I  have  found  them  in  flat  country,  and  thick 
too.  They  live  in  Sonora,  in  tracts  absolutely  arid ; 
at  least  I  never  could  find  any  water  there.  A  ram 
weighs,  when  fully  grown  and  well  conditioned,  about 
three  hundred  and  fifty  pounds.  They  grow  a  very 
fine  wool  in  winter,  and  the  females  have  horns  like  a 
common  goat.  The  old  idea  that  they  alight  on  their 
big  horns  when  compelled  to  jump  from  a  cliff  is  all 
nonsense.  It  is  like  the  popular  belief  that  prairie 
dogs,  owls,  and  rattlesnakes  live  in  one  burrow  harmo 
niously.  There  is  no  such  '  happy  family '  arrange 
ment  among  them,  I  can  assure  you.  The  snakes  eat 
the  eggs  of  the  owls,  the  owls  eat  the  snakes,  and  the 
prairie  dogs  eat  the  owl  chicks  at  every  opportunity. 
A  good  many  men  with  big-sounding  titles  would  be 
much  better  naturalists  if  they  would  become  practical 
sportsmen  and  trailers  for  a  few  years." 

"  That 's  my  idea,   Mr.   Osgood,"   said  the  Judge, 


ROCKY   MOUNTAIN    SHEEP. 


BIG  GAME.  159 

with  strong  emphasis.  "  If  I  had  a  boy  and  I  wanted 
to  make  a  true  naturalist  of  him,  I  would  buy  him  a 
sportsman's  outfit  and  give  him  to  you  for  five  years  to 
educate." 

"  Well,  I  could  teach  him  a  good  many  valuable 
things,  I  don't  doubt,  or  any  other  true  sportsman  could 
who  has  trailed  the  continent  as  widely  as  I  have,"  Jack 
responded.  "  For  he  would  see  not  only  its  physical 
geography  and  its  old  races,  now  almost  extinct,  but  aU 
its  vegetable  and  arboreal  growths,  and  above  all  learn 
how  to  use  his  eyes  and  his  ears  and  his  reasoning  fac 
ulties  more  sharply  and  carefully  than  he  could  in  the 
recitation  room  of  a  college.  Mr.  Murray  and  I  were 
graduated  from  Yale,  and  we  remember  our  Alma  Mater 
with  scholarly  gratitude,  but  the  Great  University  of 
Men  and  Things,  as  represented  by  our  studentship  of 
the  continent,  has  given  us  a  more  valuable  knowledge 
than  our  study  of  books  ever  did." 

"  Never  mind  that  now,  Jack,"  I  said  ;  "  you  and  I 
can't  graduate  from  the  big  Outdoor  University  until 
we  have  saddled  across  the  Mackenzie  Basin  and  boated 
down  its  current  a  thousand  miles,  or  two  thousand,  for 
that  matter." 

"  I  will  do  that  with  you  any  summer,"  he  said. 
"  Three  months  will  be  all  the  time  we  need,  and  from 
the  day  we  leave  Calgary  till  our  return  we  shall  be  in 
the  best  hunting  region  of  the  continent  —  the  section 
where  big  game  in  abundance  and  all  its  varieties,  ex 
cepting  the  plain  buffalo,  can  now  be  found.  All 
through  this  area  north  of  us  the  wapiti,  or  big  elk,, 
are  found  plentifully,  both  among  the  foot-hills  and  in 


160  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

the  woody  clumps  and  timber  which  patch  the  plains  of 
the  country  here  and  there.  The  wapiti  are  noble 
game,  and  the  stalking  of  them  a  most  manly  recrea 
tion.  As  to  grizzlies,  I  never  hunt  them.  I  do  not 
admit  that  a  sportsman  has  such  a  motive  in  his  sport 
ing  adventures  as  to  justify  him  in  risking  his  life,  as 
he  must  do  in  stalking  for  grizzlies.  Mr.  Murray  saw 
me  run  from  a  grizzly  once,  and  I  am  confident  that  he 
never  saw  a  man  of  my  inches  make  better  time.  I 
have  killed  two,  but  in  both  instances  I  was  so  placed 
that  I  could  n't  run,  and  had  to  kill  or  get  killed,  so  I 
stood  stoutly  in  for  the  chances,  and  won.  There  are 
two  animals  I  never  seek,  and  always  shun  if  I  can  :  the 
grizzly  bear  and  the  panther.  The  latter  is  the  king  of 
the  American  forest  and  mountains.  He  is  the  only 
beast  the  grizzly  fears.  The  lithe  cat  is  more  than 
a  match  for  the  monstrous  bear.  The  Indians  will 
tell  you  that  they  have  found  many  grizzlies  that  were 
certainly  killed  by  panthers,  but  no  one  has  ever 
seen  the  body  of  a  panther  that  was  killed  by  a  grizzly 
or  any  other  animal.  The  panther  is  king  of  the 
woods. 

"  Moose  are  numerous  in  the  Peace  River  country, 
among  the  mountains  and  on  the  west  side  of  the 
mountains.  It  has  been  said  that  no  white  man  can 
hunt  a  moose  as  well  as  an  Indian.  As  a  rule  the  say 
ing  holds  good.  To  it  I  have  known  a  few  exceptions, 
but  only  a  few.  The  influence  of  heredity  is  in  the 
Indian's  favor.  His  eyesight  is  a  derived  faculty.  It  is 
a  birthmark.  The  Indian's  eye  has  ancestors  back  of 
it.  A  thousand  years  of  practiced,  developed  vision 


THE   GRIZZLY    BEAR. 


BIG  GAME.  163 

is  concentrated,  and  peers  from  under  his  brows.  The 
aboriginal  eye  is  the  best  in  the  world.  It  is  literally 
microscopic.  In  moose-stalking  this  counts.  The 
stalker  who  can  stalk  without  noise,  and  whose  eye  is 
as  good  or  better  than  the  moose's,  gets  him  every 
time.  The  eye  wins  in  moose-hunting. 

"  Antelopes  are  not  game.     They  are  too  pretty  to 


shoot,  and  too  simple.  Their  curiosity  is  so  enormous 
that  it  dominates  them.  It  places  them  entirely  at  the 
mercy  of  the  sportsman,  and  hence  every  true  sports 
man  spares  the  lovely  creatures,  unless  absolutely  com 
pelled  to  kill  to  appease  his  hunger.  But  the  big  gray 
wolf  is  legitimate  game,  and  the  great,  gaunt,  hulking 
brute  makes  a  good  target ;  and  his  pelt  is  not  to  be  de 
spised,  for  when  full  furred  it  looks  well,  and  a  dozen 


164  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

of  them  make  a  warm  robe,  or  overcoat  even.  These 
wolves  are  everywhere  to  the  north  of  us,  and  often 
make  good  sport  as  you  trail  onward. 

"  The  reason  why  the  great  area  north  of  us  is  to  be 
commended  to  the  American  sportsman/'  said  Jack  in 
conclusion,  "  is  because  it  is  the  present  home  of  the 
big  game  of  the  continent,  and  is  accessible.  The 
rails  bring  you  to  your  saddle,  and  the  saddle  takes 
you  to  the  end  of  your  trail.  And  after  my  way  of 
thinking  there  is  no  method  of  locomotion  so  healthy, 
so  stimulating,  and  so  thoroughly  enjoyable,  as  you 
have  with  a  good,  tough,  easy-gaited,  well-trained  pony 
under  you,  trailing  over  the  great  plains.  Pushing 
down  toward  the  north  from  Calgary  you  have  the 
prairie  land  to  the  east  and  the  Rocky  Mountains  to 
the  west  in  full  view  ;  grasses  and  flowers,  running 
streams  and  groves  of  trees,  pure  air  and  lovely  camp 
grounds ;  a  climate  of  even  temperature,  long,  linger 
ing  twilights  and  early  dawns,  and  that  most  delightful 
of  all  sensations  to  a  trailer,  —  the  feeling  that  you 
are  visiting  an  unknown  section  without  danger  or 
excessive  toil,  and  in  which  game  is  abundant.  Even 
if  you  cared  nothing  for  game,  and  were  only  seeking 
a  glorious  outing,  I  can  imagine  no  excursion  likely  to 
yield  more  health  or  pleasure  to  a  party  of  refined  and 
intelligent  lovers  of  the  outdoor  world  and  life  than 
one  pushed  down  toward  the  north  into  the  Peace  River 
country  from  Calgary,  keeping  the  snowy  summits  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains  in  sight  on  the  left  as  you  jour 
ney  along.  Granted  a  good-sized  '  prairie  schooner/  a 
good  cook,  a  good  teamster,  and  a  good  party,  and 


BIG  GAME.  165 

after  my  way  of  thinking  you  have  all  the  conditions 
of  a  good  time." 

"  So  say  I,"  cried  the  Judge,  as  he  rose  to  his  feet 
and  extracted  a  small  package  from  his  coat  pocket, 
"  and  I  wish  we  boys  could  all  start  on  such  a  journey  to 
morrow.  But  one  thing,  Colonel  Goffe,  you  could  not 
do.  The  court  would  not  allow  it ;  you  should  never 
be  permitted  to  take  that  old  combination  musket  of 
yours  along.  It  is  more  dangerous  than  a  '  sugar 
trust,' "  and  the  Judge  proceeded  to  open  the  package 
in  his  hand,  which  proved  to  contain  nothing  but  small 
oblong  pieces  of  pasteboard  with  grotesque  pictures 
upon  them. 

"  Judge  John  Doe,  what  are  those  things  you  have 
in  your  hands  ?  "  exclaimed  the  Colonel,  in  a  severe 
voice.  "  They  look  to  me  like  a  pagan  cryptogram,  and 
if  Mr.  Ignatius  Donnelly  gets  hold  of  you  "  — 

"  That  will  do,"  interrupted  the  Judge  coolly,  as  he 
began  to  move  his  fingers  up  and  down  over  the  pack 
age  in  a  manner  to  make  the  slips  of  paper  come  and 
go  in  a  strange  fashion,  "  that  will  do.  Colonel  Goffe," 
he  added  as  he  prepared  to  sit  down  on  his  camp-stool, 
"  these  are  cards,  sir.  This  is  a  poker  pack,  and  in 
spite  of  your  innocence  I  propose  that  you  and  I  should 
have  a  game  "  — 

"  Sit  down,  Judge,"  said  the  Colonel  kindly,  as  he 
moved  the  Judge's  stool  a  little  closer  to  him. 

"  Thank  you,  Colonel,"  replied  the  Judge,  in  a  molli 
fied  voice,  evidently  touched  by  the  Colonel's  courtesy. 
"  I  will  sit  down,"  and  he  did  —  on  the  grass  ! 


166  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

"  You  villain  !  "  screamed  the  Judge,  and  jumping 
to  his  feet  he  grabbed  the  camp-stool  and  pursued  the 
Man  from  New  Hampshire  around  the  corner  of  the 
tent,  followed  by  our  volleying  laughter,  while  even 
the  Indians  standing  around  grinned  broadly. 


/. 


wJ 


CHAPTER  IX. 


A    STRANGE    MIDNIGHT    BIDE. 


Is  there  not 

A  tongue  in  every  star,  that  talks  with  man, 
And  wooes  him  to  be  wise  ?     Nor  wooes  in  vain. 
This  dead  of  midnight  is  the  noon  of  thought, 
And  wisdom  mounts  her  zenith  with  the  stars. 


A       RIDE,  —  and  such  a  ride  as  no  ancient 

y~V^    ever  took,  although  he  were  a  god ; 

w \     a  ride  upon  a  steed  without  feet  or 

wings,  and  yet  a  steed  which  swept 

us  through  sunlit  space  and  starlit 

gloom  faster  than  hoof  of  speed  or 

flight  of  wing.    To  the  south,  the  prairie  land  stretched 

green  and  fragrant  with  summer  growth  and  bloom  to 

the  far  southern  Gulf.     To  the  north,  the  same  lovely 

level  swept  to  the  lower  edge  of  the  great  Mackenzie 

basin,  —  that  far  river  of  the  north  of  which  few  know 

but  little,  and  most  know  nothing.     Its  length,  longer 

than  the  Mississippi's ;  its  climate,  although  upon  the 

edge  and  within    the   rim    of   the  Arctic    circle,  still 

warmer  than  Dakota's ;  its  plains,  within  whose  vast 


168  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

boundaries  Eastern  States  and  Provinces  might  be 
placed  and  lost ;  the  growth  of  its  rich  soils,  barley, 
wheat,  peas,  and  all  life-feeding  vegetables,  together 
with  those  hardy  flowers  which  grace  our  Northern 
tables :  these  and  other  marvels  born  of  isothermal 
lines  which,  curving  hither  and  yon,  laugh  at  lines  of 
latitude,  —  are  not  these  things  scoffed  at  by  the 
stay-at-homes  as  myths  and  idle  tales?  Why,  then, 
tell  of  the  great  possibilities  for  healthy  men  and 
happy  homes  lying  far  to  the  north  of  present  settle 
ments  ;  of  millions  on  millions  of  acres  that  only  wait 
for  the  plough  and  the  seed,  the  sower's  hand  and 
the  harvester's  sickle,  to  yield  the  hungry  world  the 
bread  it  needs,  if  it  will  not  believe  the  truth  ?  Yet 
the  world  will  read  the  poetry  of  this  far-stretching 
land,  and,  reading  it,  will  by  and  by  come  to  the  know 
ledge  of  its  economic  facts,  —  perhaps. 

To  the  south,  then,  the  plains  stretched  to  the  Gulf  ; 
to  the  north,  half  as  far.  To  the  east,  the  great  lawn 
extended  nigh  three  hundred  leagues.  To  the  west, 
in  the  glory  of  sunset,  its  sapphire  splendors  spread 
over  the  fixed  blue  of  heaven  and  the  floating  fleece  of 
clouds,  arose  the  barrier  of  a  great  mountain  wall  which 
reached  to  the  south  and  north  as  far  as  eye  might  see. 
Never  in  all  my  journeyings  had  I  seen  such  a  sight. 
The  foothills,  in  the  distance  and  gathering  gloom, 
were  flattened  out  of  view,  and  the  green  prairie  land 
spread  to  the  very  foot  of  that  majestic  wall,  as  level  as 
a  floor.  At  the  far  edge  of  this  extended  emerald 
field,  the  monstrous  range,  its  hither  side  darkened 
with  firs  and  evening's  gloom,  rose  in  might  and  ma- 


CANON    OF   THE   THOMPSON. 


A   STRANGE  MIDNIGHT  RIDE.  171 

jesty.  It  was  as  if  I  had  come  at  last  to  the  very  edge 
of  the  world,  which  God  had  fenced  and  barricaded, 
fixing  with  almighty  power  the  limit  of  man's  wander 
ing  and  discoveries. 

Toward  this  monstrous  barricade,  this  base  of  gloom 
that  stretched  far  as  the  eye  might  see  to  the  north  and 
south,  we  drove  in  silence.  Behind  this  wall  the  red 
sun  slowly  sank.  I  saw  its  quivering  orb  of  flame  rest 
on  a  peak  of  snow  that  at  its  touch  kindled  to  the 
brightness  of  a  burning  star.  On  either  hand  a  hun 
dred  other  peaks  flashed  like  newly  lighted  beacons. 
Is  it  for  warning  or  for  guidance,  I  queried  to  myself, 
—  for  the  weird  sight  stirred  my  imagination  unwont- 
edly,  —  that  those  hundred  beacon  fires,  stretching  in 
front  of  me  on  either  hand  a  hundred  miles,  are  kindled 
high  in  heaven  ? 

Thus,  then,  was  I  hurried  onward  fast  as  set  wings 
might  carry  me,  with  my  gaze  on  the  peaks,  the  fading 
fire  in  the  sky,  and  the  growing  gloom.  Slowly  the 
crimson  faded ;  slowly  the  sapphire  colors  lost  their 
splendors ;  slowly  the  orange  lights  were  blanched,  and 
the  warm  tones  that  filled  the  heavens  chilled  into 
gray,  and  then  in  the  far  distance  my  eye  saw  only  a 
blue  sky  pointed  here  and  there  with  starry  fire,  and 
between  it  and  me,  sharply  edged,  cleanly  cut,  strongly 
defined,  stood  forth  domes  of  snow  and  pinnacles  of 
ice. 

Many  sights  of  splendor  have  I  seen  in  wandering 
by  day  and  night ;  many  pictures  such  as  man's  hand 
could  never  paint  have  I  gazed  at,  both  at  noontide  and 
at  midnight,  when  for  my  entertainment,  as  it  seemed, 


172  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

—  for  being  there  alone  I  only  saw,  —  Nature  kindly 
shifted  her  etched  or  painted  scrolls.  Many  weird 
sights  have  I  gazed  at  floating  on  northern  waters  in 
the  night  time,  when  all  the  woods  were  silent  with  lo 
cal  stillness,  and  round  the  Pole,  by  hands  unnamed  by 
science,  unknown  to  superstition  even,  were  lighted  the 
mystic  fires  which  illuminate  with  awful  and  shifting 
splendors  the  end  of  the  world.  But  never  in  wander 
ing  by  day  or  night,  on  plain  or  mountain  slope,  or 
surface  of  forest  lakes,  have  my  eyes  beheld  a  spectacle 
so  strange  and  startling,  or  an  exhibition  so  magnifi 
cent,  as  I  saw,  gazing  westward  through  the  gloom  at 
the  summits  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  with  the  world 
around  me  darkened  into  gloaming  and  the  dead  sun 
set  lying  on  the  bier  of  Night  beyond.  Between  the 
dark  earth  and  the  blue  sky,  the  black  flatness  and  the 
star-lighted  dome,  the  whiteness  of  the  peaks  drew  a  line 
of  startling  effects  from  north  to  south,  held  in  mys 
terious  suspension  between  earth  and  heaven  as  far  as 
eye  might  range. 

Steadily  we  rolled  onward.  Behind,  the  roar  and 
rumble  of  the  train  ;  ahead,  the  stillness  of  nature's  un 
disturbed  repose  when  man  sleeps  and  animals  walk 
velvet-footed.  The  sun  had  set.  The  moon  had  not 
risen  ;  yet  it  was  not  dark.  A  strange  half-light  filled 
the  world.  The  train  I  could  not  see,  for  I  was  riding 
ahead  of  it.  The  power  that  drew  it,  whose  mighty 
throbbings  I  could  feel  as  though  within  me,  pushed 
me  through  the  air  as  an  arrow  is  pushed  from  the  bow. 
I  was  being  whirled  along  as  a  bird  is  whirled  when 
it  rides  the  tempest.  The  dusk  was  fragrant  with 


A  STRANGE  MIDNIGHT  RIDE.  173 

unseen  bloom.  The  earth  odors  were  blown  into  my 
nostrils.  I  breathed  the  strong  life  of  the  world,  and 
felt  its  strength  come  to  me  as  I  breathed. 

Suddenly,  on  my  left,  I  saw  a  snowy  owl  sailing 
with  set  wings  westward.  Was  it  the  ghost  of  the  day 
that  had  just  died  that  had  been  forced  at  last  to  leave 
the  world  it  loved  so  well  ?  The  spectral  vision  raced 
us  a  race  and  won,  and  far  ahead  I  saw  its  snowy 
plumage  fade  and  lose  itself  in  the  distance.  A  flock 
of  ducks,  startled  from  the  sedges  of  the  lake  we 
skirted,  whirred  upward  out  of  sight.  I  thought  it 
strange  that  I  could  hear  their  feathered  stroke  so  far 
away.  Above  me  the  great  round  eye  of  the  headlight 
blazed  like  a  sun.  A  coyote  sprang  upon  the  track, 
stood  for  a  moment  gazing  at  us,  its  eyes  two  diamond 
sparks,  its  dirty  gray  coat  gleaming  white  and  beauti 
ful  as  silk,  then  slunk  away,  and  the  gloaming  hid  it 
from  sight.  Suddenly,  above  us  and  ahead,  a  flock 
of  mighty  birds  swept  into  view,  —  their  bodies  white, 
their  legs  half  the  length  of  a  man's,  their  long,  broad 
bills  crooked  like  a  spoon,  yellow  as  gold,  their  wings, 
shading  from  their  white  bodies  into  raven  black, 

O  ' 

stretched  wider  than  a  man's  hands  could  reach.  They 
were  pelicans,  those  mighty  birds  that  float  upon  the 
prairie  lakes  as  large  as  swans,  whose  vans  beat  the  air 
with  strokes  stronger  than  an  eagle's.  One  such  bird 
might  make  a  trophy  for  a  hunter  more  noble  than 
horns  of  elk  or  head  of  moose.  They  gave  no  cry,  but 
circled  like  spectres  into  sight,  and  like  a  ghostly  visita 
tion  disappeared.  Thus  into  the  night  I  glided,  hold 
ing  converse  with  the  night,  —  a  wingless  bird  myself ? 
flying  with  birds. 


174  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

Those  who  know  Nature  only  by  day  know  only  half 
of  her,  and  the  least  interesting  half  at  that.  Nature 
has  two  faces.  Both  are  beautiful,  but  one  is  supremely 
so.  The  one  is  as  a  human  face,  glowing,  sunlighted, 
tanned,  scarred,  it  may  be,  perfect  or  imperfect,  as  the 
day  is.  Her  night-time  face  is  as  an  angel's,  the  face 
of  one  that  has  been  translated  from  flesh  to  spirit,  and 
by  the  translation  lost  its  grossness  and  become  ethe- 
realized.  Its  beauty  is  that  beauty  which  is  veiled,  which 
gains  from  having  its  loveliness  suggested  rather  than 
revealed.  The  nude  is  always  unsatisfactory,  for  loveli 
ness  is  ever  a  thing  of  suggestion  rather  than  revela 
tion.  He  who  sees  all  plainly  sees  too  much.  As  sight 
would  rob  religion  of  the  glory  of  faith,  so  it  robs 
loveliness  of  the  benefits  of  imagination. 

One  may  tire  of  Nature  by  day,  —  the  sun  makes 
her  common.  When  morning  has  fully  come,  we  may 
go  within-doors  and  eat ;  we  may  go  to  our  toil ;  we 
may  strike  our  tents  and  move  on,  weary  of  the  dusty 
road.  For  not  until  the  glare  is  passed  and  the  hot 
sun  dimmed  by  coming  shadows  and  cooled  by  falling 
dew,  need  we  halt  on  the  march  or  come  forth  from 
our  doors  to  look  about  us.  Verily  to  the  lover  of 
Nature,  whether  on  plain  or  amid  hills,  or  shore  of  sea, 
the  night  is  the  time  to  wake.  Then  should  eyes  be 
opened  as  stars  and  orbed  for  vision,  as  is  the  moon 
when  it  rolls  in  rounded  perfection  through  the  lighted 
skies. 

And  oh,  the  voices  of  the  night !  The  day  is  tune 
less.  Man  monopolizes  it  with  his  noises;  with  the 
murmurs  of  his  trade,  the  roar  and  rumble  of  his  com- 


A  STRANGE  MIDNIGHT  RIDE.  175 

merce ;  with  the  strident  calls  of  his  shoutings,  his  curs 
ing,  and  his  turbulence.  But  with  the  night  comes 
that  silence  which  is  vocal.  Then  Nature  sings.  Her 
tunefulness  is  heard  abroad,  and  her  soft  melodies  come 
sweetly  to  listening  ears.  The  sod  finds  speech ;  the 
brook  murmurs  to  the  banks;  the  trees  whisper  and 
call  in  sylvan  concert ;  and  through  all  the  fields  a 
thousand  tongues,  unknown  among  the  languages  of 
men,  break  forth  in  sweet  expression. 

To  many  I  know  that  what  I  write  will  be  a  mystery, 
or  only  as  the  joining  of  meaningless  words,  but  to 
others  it  will  come  freighted  with  soberness  and  truth. 
For  they,  as  well  as  I,  have  camped  upon  the  shores 
of  lakes  amid  the  circling  woods  ;  have  stood  alone 
at  night  on  boundless  prairies,  and  thrown  themselves 
down  amid  the  grasses  and  flowers,  unable  to  sleep  be 
cause  of  the  glory  that  was  above  them,  the  odors  that 
they  breathed,  and  the  sweet  sounds  which  came  to 
their  charmed  ears  from  nigh  or  far.  And  others  yet 
have  stood  upon  the  top  of  mountains  when  the  sun 
went  down,  and  with  gladness  seen  the  shadows  darken 
and  the  stars  come  out,  watching  for  them  as  for  loved 
faces  not  seen  for  years,  and  have  sat  on  the  bare  rocks, 
hour  after  hour,  and  watched  them  draw  their  golden 
circles  through  the  blue  above,  and  in  the  silence  heard 
all  the  tones  of  memory  and  the  prophecies  of  hope. 
And  when  at  last  they  slept  they  found  the  granite 
softer  than  a  downy  bed  shut  in  with  waUs  and  doors. 
These,  reading,  know  what  I  mean,  and  that  I  say  the 
truth  and  lie  not  when  I  say  that  he  who  has  seen  Na 
ture  only  by  day  has  seen  only  the  lesser  half  of  her, 


176 


DAYLIGHT  LAND. 


and  in  one  sense,  and  a  true  one  too,  has  not  seen  her 
at  all. 

Still  on- 
war  d  we 
drove.  Here 
and  there 
the  grade 
sloped  down 
ward,  and 
then  the 
mighty  train 
flew  like  a 


meteor.      It 
was  not  rid- 
ing;       we 
were  being  projected 
into  space,  we  were 
being    shot  through 
the  air.     The  atmos 
phere    was    cool,    dewy,   fra 
grant.     In  the  declensions  of 
the  prairie,  fields  of  white  fog 
enveloped  the  track.    Into  and 

through  these  soft  layers  of  fleece  our  faces  dashed. 
Out  of  them  they  rose  as  from  a  bath  of  spray,  drip- 


A  STRANGE  MIDNIGHT  RIDE.  177 

ping  with  perfumed  water.  How  delicious  the  sense 
of  life  became  !  There  was  not  a  slow  vein  in  us. 
We  flowed  full  to  the  brim  with  vitality.  The  con 
sciousness  of  happy,  buoyant  life  was  in  us  as  never 
before.  The  wild  forces  of  the  world  were  round  us, 
and  we  were  of  them.  We  were  of  the  atoms  of  the 
universe,  of  which  each  atom  is  superlatively  vital. 
We  were  all  alive.  We  throbbed  and  panted  on  the 
rising  grades  like  the  engine.  Down  the  long  declen 
sions  we  reeled  and  rollicked  like  a  frolicsome  meteor. 
We  whirled  along  through  the  gloom  like  the  birds  of 
night  which  we  startled  from  the  sedges.  We  rolled 
billowing  onward  like  the  great  herds  of  cattle  which 
our  shrieking  flight  stampeded.  We  thundered  around 
the  bends  of  the  river  furiously,  and  the  snorting  horses 
in  mighty  bands  burst  wildly  away  from  the  blaze  of 
our  headlight  as  we  dashed  into  the  ranches,  heads 
tossing  from  side  to  side,  eyes  blazing  like  diamonds, 
manes  and  tails  streaming  their  pomp  and  pride  of 
flowing  hair  afar. 

Thus  through  the  short  summer  night  we  rode  or 
flew.  Twice  the  monster  that  bore  us  so  steadily  and 
swiftly  stopped  at  water  and  stood  panting.  Around 
it  crowded  a  mob  of  wild  -  looking  creatures,  —  the 
Indians  of  the  plains  ;  Blackfeet,  who  rank  with  the 
Sioux  for  courage ;  Crees,  whose  kindred  wigwams 
stretched  to  the  coast  of  Labrador ;  the  Assinniboins 
or  "  Stonies,"  whose  tongue  connects  them  dimly  with 
the  tribes  which  trap  upon  the  shores  of  far  Mistas- 
sinni ;  these  and  the  scattered  remnants  of  other  tribes 
thronged  around,  wrapped  within  blankets,  silently 


178  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

gazing  at  us  as  we  sat  upon  the  engine.  A  wilder- 
looking  set  of  beings  no  man  ever  saw.  Their  long, 
coarse,  raven-black  hair  hung  low  upon  their  bosoms 
and  shoulders.  The  wind  at  times  blew  the  black 
tangle  of  it  over  their  faces.  These  were  painted  with 
red  and  yellow  ochres,  which  heightened  indescribably 
their  wild,  fierce  aspect.  Their  blankets  were  of  high 
colors,  some  of  a  solid  red,  some  red  with  black  stripes, 
while  others  were  checkered  in  blazing  squares.  The 
plumes  of  eagle,  raven,  and  pelican  were  knotted  in 
their  coarse  locks.  They  said  nothing.  They  asked 
no  alms.  The  brakemen,  oilers,  and  wheel-testers  flashed 
their  lanterns  into  their  faces,  and  joked  them  pleas 
antly.  They  made  no  answer  and  they  never  stirred. 
What  were  their  thoughts  ?  I  will  stir  them  up,  I  said. 

I  stepped  to  the  side  of  an  old  chief,  —  a  tall, 
wrinkled,  and  withered  Blackfoot,  —  and  said,  "  Chief, 
are  you  thinking  that  this  prairie  land  was  the  land 
of  your  fathers  for  a  thousand  years  ?  that  their  bones 
are  under  its  flowers  to-night,  and  that  their  spirits  are 
hunting  the  deer  and  the  buffalo  this  minute  on  the 
mighty  sand-hills  there  to  the  east  ?  that  this  fiery 
monster  I  am  riding  is  the  Evil  Power  that  has  ban 
ished  your  game,  robbed  you  of  your  hunting-grounds, 
and  destroyed  the  strength  and  glory  of  your  race  ? 
Do  you  not  hate  it  and  us  who  manage  and  use  it  ?  " 
He  listened  with  his  gaze  full  on  me.  I  knew  by  the 
flash  that  came  into  the  black  eyes  that  he  understood, 
but  his  face  gave  no  sign  and  he  spake  not  a  word. 
But  I  had  told  him  the  truth,  and  he  knew  it. 

The  Indians  you  meet  on  the  line  of  this  Canadian 


SAPOMAXICOW,  OR   CROWFOOT, 
Chief  of  the  Black  Feet  Indians. 


A  STRANGE  MIDNIGHT  RIDE.  181 

road  are  finer  specimens  of  the  red  race  than  those  met 
with  on  the  lines  that  run  through  the  States.  The 
early  French  treated  the  Indians  with  humanity,  the 
English  with  barbarity.  The  Hudson's  Bay  Company's 
commercial  instincts  prompted  wisdom,  —  the  wisdom 
of  justice  and  mercy ;  and  so  its  factors  and  agents 
continued  on  in  the  line  of  humane  French  precedence. 
The  Canadian  government  naturally  fell  heir  to  this 
policy  of  wisdom,  and  in  the  main  has  striven  honestly 
to  live  up  to  it.  The  beneficial  effect  of  this  treatment 
is  apparent  to  the  most  casual  observer.  The  Indians 
of  the  Canadian  west  and  northwest  are  not  like  the 
debauched  and  degraded  vagabonds  we  find  hanging 
around  the  stations  of  our  Western  railroads.  They 
are  well-clothed,  cleanly,  healthy-looking,  and  in  many 
cases  fine  specimens  of  the  red  race.  The  women  are 
well  dressed  and  of  decent  appearance.  The  boys  look 
vigorous  and  the  girls  healthy,  and  not  a  few  of  them 
handsome.  They  look  as  if  they  were  still  capable  of 
taking  care  of  themselves,  still  had  a  right  to  live,  and 
a  place  reserved  for  them  by  the  bond  of  honorable 
engagement  in  the  land  of  their  fathers.  Instead  of 
being  a  painful  spectacle  to  the  Continental  tourist,  the 
Indians  of  the  plains  between  Winnipeg  and  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  a  stretch  of  nearly  a  thousand  miles,  are 
objects  of  interest  and  pleasant  surprise. 

At  last  we  noticed  a  change  in  the  air  ahead  of  us. 
The  darkness  began  to  change  to  gray.  The  stars 
above  us  shone  with  shorter  beams.  A  pale  light 
spread  over  the  vast  plain.  A  flock  of  geese  wedged 
their  way  laboriously  northward  through  the  ashen 


182  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

gloom.  To  the  left,  in  the  bend  of  Bow  River,  a  herd 
of  cattle  stood  in  the  fog,  their  heads  and  backs  show 
ing  above  the  white  fleece,  their  bodies  invisible  —  a 
strange  effect.  The  old,  old  fight,  older  than  the 
world,  was  being  waged  around  us,  —  the  fight  of  light 
with  darkness.  The  attack  and  defence  were  equally 
stubborn.  There  were  no  charges,  no  sudden  dashes, 
no  quick  recoil  or  recoveries  of  position.  The  move 
ments  were  vast,  slow-motioned,  immense.  The  stars 
from  pole  to  pole  telegraphed  the  result.  The  horizon 
line  of  the  whole  world  showed  us,  as  we  gazed,  the 
victory  and  the  defeat.  Suddenly,  high  in  heaven,  the 
summits  of  the  mountains,  an  endless  line,  shone  pearly 
white.  Below  the  gleaming  spires  their  monstrous 
bulks  were  black  as  night.  It  was  a  sight  to  see  with 
lifted  hands.  Then  all  the  world  grew  rosy.  The  low- 
lying  fog  fields  crimsoned.  The  foothills  sprang  into 
view.  The  clouds  blushed.  The  sun  without  warning 
had  kissed  them.  The  icy  peaks  flashed  white  like 
electric  lights.  The  sun  leaped  from  the  far  eastern 
grasses,  and  Morning,  with  a  rush  of  glorious  color  on 
her  face,  took  vivid  possession  of  the  world.  And  thus, 
with  faces  wet  with  dew,  our  nostrils  filled  with  forest 
odors,  our  eyes  bright  as  the  eyes  of  those  who  had 
discovered  a  new  world,  we  dashed  into  the  amphithea 
tre  of  the  everlasting  hills,  and  stopped  at  last,  our 
glorious  ride  ended,  and  stood,  in  the  red  light  of  the 
morning,  gazing  bewildered,  astonished,  at  that  mar 
vellous  expression  of  Nature's  beauty  and  majesty 
known  to  the  tourist  of  this  western  world  as  Banff. 


CHAPTER   X. 

BANFF. 

There  was  a  sound  of  revelry  by  night." 

N  the  northeast  side  of  Scotland,  if  you 
will  look  at  your  maps,  gentlemen," 
said  the  Judge,  "  you  will  find  this 
name  of  Banff.  To  tell  you  the 
story  of  its  transplanting  would  be  to 
give  you  the  history  of  a  life,  —  a  life 
which  began  there,  and  being  removed  here  developed 
into  one  of  the  strongest  personalities  of  the  continent. 
The  once  poor  boy  at  Banff  has  since  become  one  of 
the  chief  forces  of  this  western  world.  No  higher 
compliment  could  be  paid  him  than  to  give  this  mag- 


184  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

nificent  location  the  name  of  his  birthplace.  But  no 
one  who  knows  the  modesty  and  greatness  of  the  man, 
and  the  services  he  has  done  this  country,  will  say  that 
the  compliment  is  excessive." 

"  There  is  no  reward  too  great,"  exclaimed  Mr.  Pep- 
perell,  "  there  is  no  reward  too  great  for  a  man  whose 
faith  and  courage  have  opened  up  such  a  country  as 
this  to  civilization.  Such  a  man  has  enlarged  the 
opportunity  of  human  effort,  and  made  happy  and 
prosperous  homes  possible  to  millions." 

We  were  standing  at  the  celebrated  Sulphur  Spring 
at  the  time,  one  of  the  many  natural  curiosities  which 
make  this  location  famous.  There  were  only  four  of 
us  left,  —  the  Judge,  Mr.  Pepperell,  the  Man  from  New 
Hampshire,  and  myself.  We  were  all  old  travellers, 
and  saw  that  in  Banff  alone  we  had  a  good  week's 
entertainment,  without  going  beyond  it  a  rod. 

"  This  water  smells  bad  enough  to  cure  a  man,  that 
is,  if  he  was  very  sick,"  said  the  New  Hampshire  man 
quietly,  as  he  lifted  a  cup  of  the  heavily-tinctured  water 
to  his  nose. 

"I  know  a  man  who  left  his  lameness  in  that 
spring,"  said  the  Judge,  reflectively. 

"  It  may  be  that  is  what  I  smell,"  added  the  Man 
from  New  Hampshire,  laconically. 

By  this  time  we  had  passed  through  the  tunnel  that 
has  been  bored  into  the  ledge,  in  the  centre  of  which 
Nature  had  hollowed  that  strange  cavern  from  whose 
bottom  boil  the  waters  of  healing. 

"  At  that  time,"  continued  the  Judge,  ignoring  as 
not  worthy  his  attention  the  facetious  remark  of  our 


BANFF.  185 

companion,  "  at  that  time,  this  passage  had  not  been 
excavated,  and  the  only  way  to  reach  this  curative  pool 
was  to  be  lowered  by  a  rope  through  that  aperture,  up 
there,"  and  he  pointed  to  the  hole  at  the  centre  of  the 
cavern's  dome,  some  two  feet  in  diameter,  through 
which  we  could  see  the  sky,  and  which  originally  gave 
vent  to  the  heated  atmosphere  of  the  warm  spring 
within. 

"  They  say,"  said  Mr.  Pepperell,  "  that  the  Indians 
used  to  bring  their  sick  to  this  mountain  side,  and  lower 
them  through  that  hole  into  the  warm  sulphurous  wa 
ter  ;  and  they  declare  that  not  a  single  man  ever  spent 
a  day  and  a  night  in  this  cavern  that  was  n't  lifted  out 
well." 

"  It  would  n't  have  taken  a  day  and  a  night  to  have 
cured  me,"  said  the  Man  from  New  Hampshire,  as  he 
stopped  his  nose  and  started  for  the  tunnel.  "  Any 
man  would  be  a  fool  not  to  swear  he  was  cured  after 
being  ten  minutes  in  this  oven  ;  for  before  this  passage 
was  cut,  which  gives  its  chimney  a  draft,  it  must  have 
been  close,  mighty  close,  in  here  !  " 

"  It  does  n't  smell  like  a  rose,"  laughingly  returned 
the  Judge,  as  he  shuffled  on  after  us,  "but  a  man  will 
stand  sulphur  pretty  strong  to  get  rid  of  rheumatism." 

"  They  say  that  this  whole  mountain  has  a  sub 
stratum  of  sulphur,"  remarked  Mr.  Pepperell,  after  he 
had  taken  two  or  three  whiffs  of  pure  air,  beyond  the 
mouth  of  the  passage. 

"  The  Indians  are  poor  theologians,"  said  the  Man 
from  New  Hampshire.  "  They  located  their  hell  at 
the  Glacier  ;  they  should  have  brought  it  this  side  of 
the  range." 


186  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

"  I  have  always  thought  it  strange,"  remarked  the 
Judge,  "  that  a  man  with  the  knowledge  of  Milton 
should  have  connected  sulphur  with  the  punitive  suf 
fering  of  the  race,  when,  in  fact,  it  is  one  of  the  most 
potent  of  all  curative  principles." 

"  Perfectly  adapted  for  Purgatory,"  quietly  remarked 
the  Man  from  New  Hampshire. 

I  presume  that  four  men  never  enjoyed  a  happier 
week  than  we  spent  at  Banff.  We  rolled  leisurely 
over  the  fine  roads  that  the  government  had  construct 
ed,  winding  in  and  out  along  the  bends  of  the  Bow 
River,  running  along  the  base  of  the  gigantic  moun 
tains  and  through  the  cool  forests  of  the  firs.  We 
explored,  with  the  curiosity  and  eagerness  of  boys,  the 
secluded  places,  and  followed  the  dim  by-paths,  not 
knowing  or  caring  whither  they  led  us,  happy,  whether 
they  conducted  us  to  some  noble  prospect  or  termi 
nated  suddenly  at  some  dripping  ledge.  We  searched 
for  curious  minerals  in  the  sides  of  the  mountains, 
translated  the  geological  records  of  the  cliffs,  and  col 
lected  polished  pebbles  from  the  bed  of  the  foaming 
Spray.  We  slept  at  noonday  under  the  pines,  lulled 
to  sleep  by  the  Falls  of  the  Bow,  and  fished,  not  in 
vain,  for  its  noted  trout  in  the  rapids.  We  watched 
the  storm  clouds  vainly  assault  the  monstrous  moun 
tains,  that  lifted  their  heads  majestically  above  the 
reach  of  storms  ;  listened  to  the  thunder  as  it  bellowed 
in  the  gorges  and  rumbled  down  the  ravines ;  saw  the 
rainbows  grow,  and  shrink  their  arches  of  splendor, 
and  fade  away  ;  and,  at  evening,  sat  in  the  great  angle 
of  the  veranda  which  overlooked  the  Falls  five  hundred 


BANFF.  189 

feet  below  us,  and  saw  the  round  moon  roll  up  above  the 
Fairholme  range,  and  whiten  the  valley  of  the  Bow  with 
its  silvery  light.  We  admired  the  ample  design  of  the 
commodious  house,  —  a  veritable  palace,  with  interior 
finish  of  native  woods  polished  to  a  gleam  ;  its  wide 
stairways  and  galleries ;  the  noble  dining-room,  with  its 
lofty  ceiling,  which  the  Judge  pronounced  "  fit  to  be 
a  banquet-hall  for  the  gods  ;  "  and  the  large  verandas 
that  encircled  the  entire  house,  as  if  to  invite  the  guest 
to  enjoy,  to  their  fill,  the  majestic  scenery  which  stood 
grouped  around  it. 

"  Here,"  exclaimed  Mr.  Bonne  ville,  "  here,  is  a  con 
tinental  enterprise  of  which,  as  a  continental  man,  I  am 
proud.  A  year  ago  and  what  was  there  here  ?  A 
forest,  a  solitude.  And  out  of  that  forest  and  soli 
tude,  at  the  touch  of  courageous  enterprise,  this  noble 
structure  has  risen  with  all  its  appurtenances  of  com 
fort  and  luxury,  as  in  the  mind  of  the  dreamer  a  vision 
arises  in  the  darkness  of  night." 

o 

"  The  only  vision,"  said  the  Man  from  New  Hamp 
shire,  "  that  while  it  delights  the  eye,  ever  fully  satis 
fied  the  stomach." 

"  The  climax  of  civilization,"  remarked  the  Judge 
contentedly,  as  he  accepted  a  cigar  from  Mr.  PepperelFs 
case.  "  A  perfect  climax  of  civilization.  The  dessert 
at  dinner  to-day  made  me  profoundly  grateful  that  I 
was  not  born  a  barbarian." 

"  Had  you  been,  you  would  have  civilized  the  tribe 
and  imported  a  French  chef,  Judge,"  retorted  the  New 
Hampshire  man  laughingly. 

At  the  appointed  day  the  scattered  members  of  the 


190  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

party  kept  their  rendezvous  at  the  hotel.  The  house 
swarmed  with  guests.  A  cosmopolitan  company  in 
truth.  The  continent  in  its  every  section,  almost,  was 
represented.  The  nations  of  Europe  and  the  islands 
of  the  seas  were  there.  The  flags  of  old  England,  of 
France,  and  of  the  Great  Republic  were  fraternally  in 
tertwined.  Science  and  art,  poetry  and  letters,  music, 
beauty,  and  wit  were  joined  in  bright  companionship. 
A  programme  for  the  evening's  entertainment  had  been 
prepared  and  the  Judge  appointed  master  of  ceremo 
nies.  The  stars  lighted  the  world  outside,  and  within 
the  electric  globes  flooded  the  house  with  their  white 
radiance. 

"  Ladies  and  gentlemen/'  began  the  Judge,  "  this  is 
not,  I  will  honestly  confess,  my  maiden  speech,  and  yet 
I  find  myself  affected  as  if  it  were.  I  am  embarrassed, 
not  at  the  courtesy  of  your  suffrage,  but  at  the  nov 
elty  of  my  position.  A  citizen  of  the  Golden  Gate,  I 
find  myself  in  the  Dominion  of  the  Queen,  surrounded 
by  an  audience  representing  almost  every  section  of 
that  Empire  on  which  the  sun  never  sets,  every  State 
and  Territory  of  the  Great  Republic,  and  almost  every 
civilized  nation  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  We,  the 
citizens  of  the  Republic,  moved  by  love  of  country  and 
of  institutions  which  are  precious  to  every  lover  of 
liberty  wherever  he  is  found,  wish  to  hold  a  social  re 
union.  With  that  modesty  for  which  we  Americans 
are  noted  the  world  around,  we  proceeded  promptly  to 
appropriate  this  hotel  and  all  the  resources  for  enter 
tainment  in  the  establishment,  including  yourselves, 
surreptitiously  inveigled  under  the  name  of  guests,  that 


BANFF.  193 

your  elegance,  your  wit,  and  your  beauty  might  add 
eclat  to  the  occasion.  This  piratical  proceeding  we  pro 
ceeded  to  legalize  by  a  process  invented  by  us  Yankees 
known  as  the  '  Town  Meeting ; '  a  process  which  has 
been  wittily  described  as  enabling  the  original  New 
Englander  to  steal  his  lands  from  the  Indians,  become 
a  rebel  to  his  king,  and  change  the  commandments 
without  doing  violence  to  his  conscience.  At  this  meet 
ing  of  my  fellow-countrymen  I  was  elected  master  of 
ceremonies,  a  dignity  which  I  did  not  obtain,  accord 
ing  to  a  quaint  national  custom  prevalent  among  us, 
without  being  openly  charged  by  my  competitors  with 
having  reached  the  lofty  elevation  by  a  scandalous 
stuffing  of  the  ballot-box.  Here  amid  these  everlast 
ing  hills,  in  this  palace  of  modern  luxury,  with  the 
flags  of  all  nations  intertwined,  emblematic  of  that 
peace  which  not  only  now  prevails  in  the  Eepublic  and 
its  relations,  but  through  the  Empire  of  the  English- 
speaking  race,  and  with  an  audience  more  truly  cos 
mopolitan  than  I  have  ever  seen  outside  of  the  official 
halls  of  government,  we  hold  our  happy  reunion.  We 
Americans  are  not  formal.  We  are  not  exclusive. 
The  liberties  of  refinement  will  rule  the  evening.  Lit 
erature  will  be  honored.  Music  will  be  applauded. 
Beauty  will  be  admired,  genius  receive  its  acclaim,  the 
banquet  table  be  spread,  and  then  Terpsichore  shall 
dance  to  the  music  of  the  hours,  till  the  flush  of  morn 
ing  shall  turn  the  icy  pinnacles  of  the  mountains  above 
us  to  the  color  of  the  rose." 

There  was  just  that  Fourth  of  July  swing  to  the 
eloquence  of  the  Judge,  that  rhetorical  abandon,  which 


194  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

suited  exactly  the  mood  of  his  fellow-countrymen,  and 
we  all  cheered  him  as  none  of  us  have  ever  been 
cheered  since  our  Class  Day  oration,  when  we  electri 
fied  our  sisters,  our  cousins,  and  our  aunts  with  the 
flights  of  our  eloquence.  We  ah1  cheered  him  im 
mensely.  The  Man  from  New  Hampshire,  who  had 
been  a  self-nominated  rival  to  the  Judge  in  his  strug 
gle  for  the  chairmanship,  prolonged  his  applause  as 
if,  like  a  true  American  when  defeated,  he  would 
triumph  over  his  hated  rival  by  the  exhibition  of  his 
generosity. 

"  Ladies  and  gentlemen,"  resumed  the  Judge,  when 
the  Man  from  New  Hampshire  had  subsided,  feeling 
that  he  was  the  true  victor,  "  ladies  and  gentlemen, 
I  will  first  present  to  you  Professor  Blankton,  of  the 
Continental  CoUege,  an  Institution  not  yet  erected, 
but  which  nevertheless  stands  completed  to  the  eye 
of  faith,  on  the  subscription  paper  —  not  largely  sub 
scribed  to  as  yet  —  which  he  carries  in  his  pocket. 
Professor  Blankton  will  give  us  a  recitation  of  an 
original  composition  prepared  expressly  for  this  occa 
sion,  called  The  Two  Flags." 

"  That  you  may  understand,  ladies  and  gentlemen," 
began  the  Professor,  as  with  a  graceful  bow  he  ac 
knowledged  the  generous  reception  we  gave  him,  "  that 
you  may  understand  the  location  and  natural  surround 
ings  of  this  little  episode  of  American-Canadian  life, 
which  I  am  to  render,  I  will  briefly  describe  them  to 
you. 

"  Below  the  Fraser  Canon,  the  savage  sublimity  of 
which  cannot  perhaps  be  equaled  on  the  continent,  the 


BANFF.  195 

Fraser  curves  to  the  right,  and  sends  its  deep,  strong, 
down-rushing  current  with  a  sullen  roar  against  the 
base  of  a  mountain.  And  he  who  stands  in  the  curve 
below  Yale,  and  looks  up  that  wide  reach  of  water 
to  where  it  rushes  out  of  the  gloomy  pass,  from  be 
tween  walls  of  rocks  which  rise  six  thousand  feet  above 
it,  sees  as  grand  a  spectacle  and  as  sublime  a  vision  of 
river  and  mountain  as  he  may  find  on  the  continent. 
Opposite  this  curve,  on  which  you  wih1  imagine  your 
self  standing,  stretches  a  plain,  acres  in  extent,  lying 
enclosed  in  the  curve  of  the  great  stream,  under  the 
rounded  banks  of  which,  when  the  water  is  lowest  in 
summer,  stretches  a  bar  of  brown  sand.  From  that  bar 
a  crowd  of  Americans,  who  had  broken  through  the 
vast  mountains  from  California,  in  1868,  took  in  a  few 
days  more  than  a  million  of  dollars  of  granulated  gold. 
From  this  fact  it  received  the  name  of  American  Bar, 
a  name  which  it  retains  to  this  day.  On  the  plain 
above  the  bar,  directly  in  front  of  the  monstrous  mouth 
of  the  Fraser  Canon,  were  camped  more  than  six  hun 
dred  of  our  fellow-countrymen. 

"  It  is  doubtful,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  if  a  rougher, 
braver,  more  reckless  crowd  were  ever  seen  in  British 
Columbia.  They  represented  the  frontier  of  our 
country  ;  that  frontier  which  stands  for  exploration,  mad 
ventures,  audacious  enterprises,  personal  courage,  coarse 
bravado,  manhood  wrecked,  recklessness  of  life,  and 
generous  impulses.  In  it,  every  State  and  Territory  of 
the  Union  had  its  spokesman.  The  dialect,  the  per 
sonal  characteristics,  the  humor,  even  the  profanity  of 
each  section  was  represented  by  its  true  type.  Many 


196  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

were  old  forty-niners,  men  who  had  crossed  the  plains 
on  foot,  rifle  in  hand,  when  the  East  went  wild  at  the 
news  that  gold  could  be  had  for  the  digging  beyond 
the  Nevadas.  Youth  and  age  and  middle  life  were 
there.  Ex-army  men,  Blue  and  Gray,  Reb  and  Yank, 
worked  as  partners,  and  starved,  feasted,  or  gambled  to 
gether  as  luck  smiled  or  frowned.  Some  signed  their 
name  with  that  sign  which  stands  with  equal  facility 
for  piety  or  ignorance  ;  and  others  in  the  hush  of 
evening  sang  the  songs  of  their  Alma  Mater  to  the 
listening  pines  and  silent  stars.  Many  were  ignorant 
of  any  grammar,  and  others  might  have  served  as 
Queen's  Messengers,  not  only  in  European  but  in  Asi 
atic  courts.  Many  were  scarred  with  wounds  received 
in  battle  or  private  fights.  All  were  armed,  and 
ate  and  slept  with  a  pistol  at  their  hips.  And  while 
they  gambled  or  bet  heavily  when  in  money  or  liquor, 
nevertheless  drunkenness  was  exceptional  and  fights 
uncommon.  A  crude  but  effectively  administered  jus 
tice  guarded  property  and  life.  Thieving  was  unknown 
at  American  Bar.  '  It  does  n't  pay,'  said  Light-fin 
gered  Dick  to  his  partner,  who  had  learned  a  useful 
trade  under  the  direction  of  his  native  State :  ( it 
does  n't  pay  in  a  community  so  damned  ignorant  that 
the  court  has  only  one  classification  for  crimes  and  in 
flicts  but  one  penalty.'  Still  it  cannot  be  said  that 
this  crowd  of  gold-seekers  were  precisely  the  kind  of 
men  one  would  select  for  church-membership,  and  cer 
tainly  more  reckless  dare-deviltry  was  camped  that  sum 
mer  at  American  Bar  than  could  be  easily  grouped  in 
any  other  spot  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  You  now 


r 


FRASER  CANON,  BELOW  NORTH  BEND. 


BANFF.  199 

have  the  knowledge  of  the  location  and  characteristics 
of  the  occurrence,  and  I  will  proceed  to  give  you  the 
story  of  — 

THE  TWO  FLAGS. 

"  Let  these  two  flags  go  on  like  twin 
Stars  in  equal  courses  moving." 

"  It  was  the  Fourth  of  July.  The  sun  stood  equidis 
tant  between  the  monstrous  cliffs  that  made  the  walls 
of  the  Black  Canon,  pouring  its  rays  straight  downward 
upon  the  foam-whitened  surface  of  the  racing  water. 
On  the  plain  in  the  elbow  of  the  river  stood  the  camp, 
and  on  the  bush-cabins  and  old,  soiled  tents  the  rays 
fell  brightly  and  hot ;  all  the  hotter  they  seemed  to  the 
revelers  on  the  sand,  because  above  and  around  them, 
as  they  looked  through  the  heated  air,  they  could  see 
the  cold  gleam  of  glaciers  and  the  glint  of  ice  against 
the  blue  sky.  The  camp  was  in  holiday  mood  ;  not  a 
man  was  at  work  at  the  Bar.  To  have  lifted  pick  or 
pan  would  have  started  Judge  Lynch  that  day.  They 
had  struck  luck  at  the  Bar  and  their  mood  was  exuber 
ant.  Some  were  pitching  quoits,  using  small  bags  of 
gold  dust  for  their  quoits,  each  caster  risking  the  bag 
that  he  cast ;  others  were  engaged  in  pistol  practice, 
the  bull's-eye  being  a  gold  eagle  at  fifty  yards.  The 
bullet  that  hit  won  the  eagle.  Some  were  whirling 
knives  at  bank  notes.  In  every  tent  poker  was  being 
played  with  a  recklessness  that  would  frighten  a  rail 
road  magnate.  Two  men  were  pronouncing  an  oration 
on  Liberty  at  either  end  of  the  camp,  while  a  scholarly 
looking  man,  considerably  exhilarated  with  something 


200  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

stronger  than  the  inspiration  of  the  poet,  was  vainly 
endeavoring  to  pronounce  the  measures  of  a  patriotic 
ode  he  had  composed  to  a  throng  of  uproarious  au 
ditors. 

"  Suddenly  at  the  mountain  end  of  the  central  street, 
a  throng  of  men  appeared,  bearing  on  their  shoulders  a 
flag-staff  with  the  halyards  all  rigged.  At  their  head 
marched  Hoosier  Jack,  who  was  '  loaded  with  lead  '  at 
Shiloh,  carrying  a  staff  from  which  waved  a  yard  of 
bunting,  with  its  thirteen  stars  all  faded  and  the  glori 
ous  stripes  sadly  bleached,  frayed  at  the  edges,  if  the 
truth  must  be  told,  and  '  damnably  out  of  repairs,'  as 
Bangor  Harry  asserted ;  but  symbolic  still  of  liberty  to 
man,  and  of  the  great  country  which  stands  for  that 
liberty  the  world  over.  Ahead  of  it  marched  the 
band,  composed  of  a  little  snare  drum,  two  fifes,  and 
five  fiddles,  playing  Yankee  Doodle  with  a  celerity  of 
movement  and  an  earnestness  of  expression  which 
more  than  compensated  for  the  artistic  deficiencies  of 
the  performance. 

"  But,  oh  !  the  cheers  and  the  yells  that  greeted  that 
little  cheap  flag  as  it  came  down  the  street !  The 
emptying  of  tents,  the  rushing  of  the  gamblers;  the 
pell-mell  that  ensued  !  In  the  rear  of  those  bearing  the 
flag-staff  the  procession  was  formed,  and  twice  through 
the  camp  the  cheap,  faded  banner  was  carried,  and  then 
in  the  centre  the  flag-pole  was  set,  the  bunting  knot 
ted  to  the  halyards,  and  up  went  the  Stars  and  Stripes, 
while  every  head  was  uncovered  and  the  eyes  of  many 
grew  dim  as  they  gazed.  And  as  the  flag  went  up  and 
the  breeze  shook  it  out  and  the  sunshine  brightened 


BANFF.  201 

the  faded  stars  and  bleached  stripes,  a  cheer,  hoarse 
and  strong,  stormed  upward  like  the  roar  of  a  tempest, 
startling  the  goats  on  the  crag  and  the  fish-hawks  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Canon,  and  Bangor  Harry,  climbing 
to  the  top  of  some  cracker-boxes  with  his  six  shooter 
for  his  baton,  constituted  himself  leader  of  the  music 
of  the  occasion,  and  in  his  clear  tenor  voice,  resonant 
as  a  bugler's  call  at  sunrise,  began,  — 

'  Yes,  we  '11  rally  round  the  flag,  boys, 

We  '11  rally  once  again, 
Shouting  the  battle-cry  of  Freedom  ; 

We  '11  rally  from  the  hillside, 
We  '11  gather  from  the  plain, 

Shouting  the  battle-cry  of  Freedom. 
Chorus :  The  Union  forever ! 
Hurrah  !    boys,  hurrah ! 

Down  with  the  traitor,  up  with  the  star, 
While  we  rally  round  the  flag,  boys, 

Rally  once  again, 
Shouting  the  battle-cry  of  Freedom.' 

"  Whether  it  was  the  exhilaration  of  the  occasion,  the 
swing  and  sweep  of  the  verse,  or  the  thrill  of  pride 
that  the  symbol  above  their  heads  was  theirs  once 
more,  or  the  magical  memories  of  the  old  days  before 
the  war,  we  cannot  say,  but  we  simply  record  the  fact 
that  when  the  singer  had  reached  the  chorus,  and  the 
great  crowd  of  rough,  bronzed,  strong  men  took  up  the 
refrain,  Arkansas  Keb  and  Mississippi  Pete,  who  had 
6  bored  the  old  flag '  in  twenty  battles,  joined  in  as 
vigorously  as  if  they  had  been  born  under  the  slope  of 
Bunker  Hill. 


202  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

"  The  song  closed  in  a  roar  of  sound  which  might 
not  be  designated  by  Thomas  or  Zerrahn  as  music,  but 
which  fully  answered  the  demands  of  the  occasion, 
and  at  a  word  from  Bangor  Harry,  every  revolver 
left  its  owner's  hip,  and  six  hundred  polished  muzzles 
gleamed  in  the  sun.  Six  volleys  followed  the  signal  of 
the  leader  with  a  precision  which  demonstrated  that 
they  were  more  practiced  in  the  use  of  the  "  iron  " 
than  in  the  chromatic  scale. 

"  (  You  fellows,'  said  Bangor  Harry,  as  he  crawled 
carefully  down  from  the  top  of  his  cracker-boxes, 
'you  fellows  ain't  much  at  singing,  but  you  have  all 
got  the  classical  touch  on  the  trigger.' 

"  It  was  in  fact  an  exuberant  and  exciting  crowd,  a 
crowd  which  the  least  touch  would  have  exploded  for 
fun,  patriotism,  or  deviltry.  And  it  was  at  this  un 
fortunate  juncture  —  unfortunate  for  him  —  that  out 
of  his  bush  shanty  crawled  Bloody  Edwards,  a  big, 
aggressive,  red-faced  London  cockney,  who  had  come 
through  the  mountains  with  the  crowd  from  no  imagi 
nable  reason  save  sheer  accident,  and  still  remained 
with  them  because  of  tolerance  on  their  part  and  exces 
sive  indolence  on  his ;  for  there  certainly  was  nothing 
in  common  between  this  lofty-acting,  boastful  cockney 
from  London  and  the  free  and  easy,  reckless  men 
among  whom  he  was  staying.  A  more  boastful,  swag 
gering  braggart  never  breathed.  The  most  offensive 
Briton  was  in  him  typed  most  offensively.  His  favor 
ite  superlative  was  '  bloody  ! '  It  answered  even  the 
purpose  of  his  loyalty,  which  was  so  excessive  as  to 
tax  language  to  express,  and  gave  him  his  name. 


BANFF.  203 

"  At  the  very  moment  when  the  vast  crowd  was  fairly 
boiling  over  with  excitement  and  ready  for  any  mischief, 
came  Bloody  Edwards  upon  the  scene,  swaggering  of 
fensively  and  waving  a  small,  red,  British  flag  in  his 
hand.  Planting  himself  in  the  centre  of  the  street  in 
front  of  the  six  hundred  exhilarated  Americans,  he 
waved  the  little  banner  flauntingly  over  his  head,  and 
howled  — 

« '  Urrah  for  the  Flag  of  Hold  Hingland ! ' 

"  For  an  instant  the  crowd  never  moved  ;  each  man 
stood  silently  in  his  tracks,  and  then  with  a  roar 
came  the  rush.  It  struck  Bloody  Edwards  like  a  land 
slide,  and  swept  him,  as  if  he  were  a  bit  of  debris,  to 
the  bank  of  the  river.  Then  out  of  the  roar  lanced 
a  voice,  '  Naturalize  him !  naturalize  him !  Make  a 
Yankee  out  of  the  cockney  !  '  and  six  hundred  voices 
took  up  the  cry  —  for  the  humor  of  the  idea  pleased 
them  —  '  Aye,  aye  !  Naturalize  him ;  he  shall  take 
the  oath  of  allegiance.  Make  him  swear  by  the  Stars 
and  Stripes  ! ' 

"  But  the  cockney  refused  to  become  a  Yankee ; 
refused  point  blank,  and  garnished  his  refusal  by  ex 
pletives  known  only  to  the  slums  of  London. 

66 6  Curse  the  cockney/  exclaimed  Cambridge  Jack, 
6  the  fool  acts  as  if  he  had  a  choice  in  the  matter ; ' 
and  then  he  screamed,  '  Dip  him  !  Dip  him  !  Cool  him 
down  in  the  Fraser !  He  shall  swear  by  the  Stars  and 
Stripes,  or  drown  ! '  And  the  crowd  took  up  the 
words  of  Cambridge  Jack,  for  the  cockney  had  no 
friends  ;  he  had  not  acted  to  make  any,  and  surely 
no  flag  up  to  this  time  had  ever  had  a  less  manly  repre- 


204  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

sentative  than  the  banner  of  England  had  found  in  the 
person  of  this  boasting,  swaggering,  insolent  cockney, 
Bloody  Edwards.  And  so  the  crowd  took  up  the  cry 
of  Cambridge  Jack,  prompted  thereto  by  the  sense  of 
humor  and  the  dislike  of  the  cockney,  and  yelled, 
6  Into  the  Fraser  with  him  !  Cool  him  down  !  Teach 
him  manners  !  He  shall  swear  by  the  Stars  and  Stripes, 
or  drown  ! '  And  then  the  crowd  gave  one  surge,  and 
upward  the  cockney  was  swung,  and  down  to  the  river 
they  rushed  him,  and  into  the  depth  of  the  cold,  icy 
river,  that  river  that  never  was  warm  and  never  will 
warm  until  the  elements  melt,  they  plunged  him. 

"  But  underneath  and  within  the  punk  of  his  cock- 
neyism,  untouched  by  the  rot  of  the  surface,  was  a 
sound  streak  of  old  English  oak.  For  as  the  big,  red 
face  came  out  of  the  ice-cold  tide,  he  blew  like  a  por 
poise  and  yelled  again,  — 

"  '  Urrah  for  the  flag  of  Hold  Hingland  ! ' 

"  '  Down  with  him  !  Down  with  him  again  ! '  yelled 
the  crowd  to  Blarney  Pat  and  Confederate  Dick  who 
had  him  in  hand.  And  downward  they  plunged  him ; 
down  into  the  coldness  of  death,  that  glacial  cold  in 
that  river  of  glaciers  which  chills  and  whitens  quick 
and  sure  for  the  grave.  Downward  they  sent  him  and 
again,  as  he  came  to  the  surface,  he  feebly  sputtered,  — 

"  <  Urrah  —  for  —  the  —  flag  —  of  -  -  Hold  —  Hin 
-  gland  ! ' 

"  By  this  time  it  was  evident  that  Bloody  Edwards 
was  sober,  sober  as  a  man  who  from  birthday  had  never 
touched  ale,  and  that  it  was  not  the  reckless  bra 
vado  born  of  liquor,  but  the  bull-dog  grit  which  made 


BANFF.  205 

Poictiers,  Cressy,  and  Waterloo  what  they  stand  for, 
which  held  him  to  the  line  whose  ghastly  white  men 
dread,  so  stiffly  —  the  indomitable  English  grit  that 
was  in  him. 

"  And  this  it  was  which  won  on  the  crowd  and  even 
on  the  two  men  who  had  twice  plunged  him  into  that 
death-cold  current,  that  current  which  never  yet  gave 
back  to  light  of  day  a  body  that  once  touched  its  bot 
tom.  For  Confederate  Dick,  as  he  looked  into  the 
big,  red  English  face  that  now  lay  drooping  weakly  on 
the  bull-like  neck,  exclaimed  in  sheer  disgust,  — 

"  '  Curse  the  English  fool,  he  won't  give  in  ! '  Then 
up  spoke  Bangor  Harry,  as  he  thrust  himself  to  the 
front  of  the  surging  crowd. 

"  6  Boys,  the  darned  fool  is  of  the  same  blood  with 
us  if  he  is  beefy  built ;  for  his  grit  proves  it.  The 
red  flag  he  'd  die  for  owned  the  continent  before  the 
Stars  and  Stripes  split  it.  And  the  two  own  the  con 
tinent  still  betwixt  them,  and  shall  own  it  forever,  by 
Heaven  !  Three  cheers  for  the  red  flag  of  England, 
the  old  mother-land  of  us  all.'  And  suddenly  out  of  the 
throats  of  the  six  hundred  men  who  had  swarmed  over 
the  border  searching  for  gold,  above  whose  heads 
floated  the  little,  cheap  fifteen  by  twenty  bunting  with 
its  stars  bleached  and  its  stripes  all  faded,  there  burst 
as  hearty  a  cheer  for  the  cross  of  St.  George  as  ever 
English  gunners  sent  from  bloody  English  decks  when 
through  the  smoke  they  saw  their  foeman's  flag  come 
floating  down. 

"  Then  out  of  the  water  they  lifted  the  cockney,  they 
rolled  him  and  rubbed  him,  and  twenty  flasks  were 


206  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

tossed  through  the  air  to  the  men  who  had  him  in 
hand.  Then  they  took  the  flag,  —  Cambridge  Jack 
was  the  man,  —  and  bent  it  to  the  halyards,  side  by  side 
with  the  Stars  and  Stripes,  and  they  hoisted  the  two 
with  loud  cheers. 

" f  Divil  take  the  rag ! '  said  Blarney  Pat  as  he 
pulled  lustily  away  at  the  halyards.  '  Divil  take  the 
rag,  but  the  b'y  that  won  Waterloo  was  born  nigh 
KiUarney  ! ' 

"  But  this  was  not  all,  for  a  strange  thing  happened, 
strange  enough  at  any  time,  but  doubly  so  happening 
at  that  very  moment.  Scarcely  had  the  cheering  died 
than  along  the  river's  farther  bank  there  came  a  cir 
cling  wind,  marking  its  progress  with  dust,  dead  leaves, 
and  withered  grasses,  which  at  its  touch  sprang  upward 
into  air.  Across  the  rushing  river,  across  the  Bar,  it 
ran  its  circling  course,  jumped  the  dry  bank  and  rushed 
across  the  bend,  and  in  its  career  struck  full  and  fair 
the  staff  from  which  the  kindred  banners  waved  ;  out 
of  their  fastenings  tore  them,  and,  twined  together, 
blent  as  one,  sent  them  soaring  upward  through  the 
sunshine  toward  the  blue  sky  and  the  white  summits 
of  the  Canon,  eight  thousand  feet  above  the  throng  of 
swarthy,  scarred,  and  startled  faces  gazing  at  them. 

"  Thus  in  silence  stood  the  camp.  Not  a  sound  was 
heard  save  the  rush  of  water  as  it  whirled  around  the 
Bar  or  fretted  along  the  shifting  edges  of  the  golden 
beach  below.  Spellbound  and  marveling  at  such  strange 
hap,  their  jests  all  checked,  their  rude  talk  silenced, 
they  stood  at  gaze,  their  eyes  fixed  on  the  flags  as  they 
went  up  and  onward,  lifted  higher  and  higher  into  the 


BANFF.  207 

blue.  Still  upward  and  onward  they  soared ;  and  not 
until  they  were  to  the  eye  but  a  fleck  of  color,  not 
until  that  fleck  of  color  had  touched  the  level  of  the 
icy  peaks  and  the  summit  line  of  snow,  not  until  the 
winds  which  pour  forever  over  them  had  caught  the 
flags  and  they  were  about  to  disappear,  borne  on  by 
winds  which  flow  forever  round  the  world,  was  that 
solemn  silence  broken.  But  as  the  blended  flags,  now 
but  a  speck  of  color,  were  about  to  fade  forever  from 
their  gazing  eyes,  the  voice  of  Bangor  Harry  rose 
strong  and  clear,  with  the  genuine  Yankee  nasal  struck 
clean  through  the  words  :  — 

"  '  I  'II  be  darned  if  God  Almighty  has  tit  joined 
them  two  flags  together  !  ' 

The  Man  from  New  Hampshire  was  mightily  stirred 
by  the  recitation,  and  when  he  lifted  himself  from  his 
chair,  and  standing  erect,  swung  his  white  beaver  over 
his  head  and  cried,  "  Hurrah  for  the  flag  of  Old  Eng 
land,  the  mother-land  of  us  all !  "  the  great  veranda 
trembled  to  the  roar  of  the  applause  which  burst  from 
the  laughing,  cheering  throng. 

Then 

"  Music  arose  with  its  voluptuous  swell. 

Soft  eyes  looked  love  to  eyes  that  spake  again, 
And  all  went  merry  as  a  marriage  bell." 

The  long,  wide  piazzas  made  such  an  ideal  ball-room  as. 
is  seldom  seen 

"  When  youth  and  pleasure  meet 
To  chase  the  glowing  hours  with  flying  feet," 


208  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

for  above  them  the  blue  star-fretted  heaven  was  for  a 
roof,  and  the  free,  odor-filled  breeze  of  the  mountains 
gave  to  the  waltzers  such  air  as  eagles  breathe.  Be 
neath  their  feet  the  polished  floor,  under  the  elec 
tric  lights,  shone  like  ground  of  glass ;  upon  the  hills 
and  into  the  valley  the  moon  poured  its  soft  light, 
while  to  the  music  of  the  band  the  Falls  far  below 
added  its  steady  roar  —  a  heavy  monotone  of  power 
softened  by  distance.  Into  the  solemn  solitude  of  na 
ture,  into  the  undisturbed  silence  of  ages,  within  the 
enclosure  of  mountains  old  as  the  world,  whose  sum 
mits  were  white  with  snow  that  fell  in  the  morning  of 
Time  and  had  never  melted,  man  —  the  social  man  — 
had  burst,  erected  his  palace,  spread  a  table  of  banquet, 
and  summoned  music  and  pleasure  to  the  feast.  The 
strength  and  grace  of  form,  the  gleam  of  silks,  the  flow 
of  soft-toned  draperies,  the  flash  of  gems,  the  loveliness 
of  snowy  necks  and  arms,  the  glowing  cheek,  the 
laughing  lip,  the  buzz  of  happy  talk,  the  harmonies  of 
music  —  all  were  here,  making  a  rare,  sweet,  bright 
picture  of  human  happiness.  So  passed  the  hours 
until  the  dawn  gave  rosy  signal  for  retiring  and  the 
first  "  American  Night "  at  Banff  ended,  as  it  should, 
in  a  lovely  morning. 


ON    THE   TOTE    ROAD. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

NAMELESS    MOUNTAINS. 

Hills  piled  on  hills,  on  mountains  mountains  lie." 

ROM  the  Gap,  but  a  little  way  beyond 
the  beautiful  Kananaskis  Falls,  to  Yale 
at  the  outlet  of  the  celebrated  Fraser 
Canon  is  nearly  five  hundred  miles,  and 
it  is  a  very  moderate  statement  to  say 
that  nowhere  else  on  this  continent  or 
in  Europe  can  the  tourist  see  from  his  parlor  car  such 
a  magnificent  exhibition  of  mountain  scenery.  Here 
is  a  section  of  the  transcontinental  journey  in  respect 
to  which  the  traveler  can  experience  no  disappoint 
ment.  It  is  not  only  that  he  is  constantly  running 
along  the  base  of  mountains  of  gigantic  size  and  im 
mense  altitude  by  which  he  is  stimulated  and  impressed, 
but  these  mountains  are  of  every  shape  and  color, 


212  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

present  themselves  to  the  eye  in  an  infinite  variety  of 
appearance,  and  are  individualized  by  strong,  novel, 
and  imposing  characteristics.  Here  stands  one  of  such 
immense  bulk  and  height,  holding  such  a  relation  to 
the  line  of  travel,  that  it  dominates  the  landscape  and 
fills  the  gazer's  horizon  from  edge  to  edge.  Passing 
this  monstrous  obstruction  to  the  vision,  the  eye  sud 
denly  beholds  a  range  pinnacled  with  eternal  snow  and 
flashing  crests  of  ice,  whose  brilliancy  is  the  reflection 
of  ages.  Anon,  he  is  whirled  around  a  curve,  on  a 
track  so  cut  into  the  beetling  cliffs  that  at  a  distance  it 
looks  like  a  dark  thread  spun  in  the  air  and  drifted  by 
the  wind  against  the  perpendicular  wall,  and  lo,  he  is 
in  the  midst  of  a  hundred  mountains,  tumbled  promis 
cuously  together,  a  vast  jumble  of  chaotic  misplace 
ment.  At  one  moment  he  is  rolling  swiftly  down  a 
valley,  as  green  with  springing  verdure,  as  odorous 
with  flowers,  as  peaceful  and  lonely,  as  the  Happy 
Valley  of  Rasselas ;  above  it  the  bluest  of  skies  and 
the  brightest  of  suns,  with  a  flashing  river  running 
with  musical  ripplings  through  its  centre  ;  and  at  the 
next,  the  train  is  groping  its  way  along  a  narrow  gorge 
cut  sheer  through  a  mountain  range  at  the  level  of  its 
base,  with  the  black,  rocky  sides  rising  abruptly  thou 
sands  of  feet  on  either  hand,  a  river  of  vast  volume, 
outracing  the  train  at  his  side,  here  running  in  white 
flights,  there  whirling  in  dark  pools,  while  all  the  black 
air  is  filled  with  its  hoarse  complaining  and  explosions 
of  thunderous  rage.  Now  it  is  a  lonely  lake,  with  its 
beaches  and  its  sedges,  its  islands  and  its  reflections  of 
sky  and  cloud  and  mountain,  and  its  signs  of  swim- 


NAMELESS  MOUNTAINS.  213 

ming,  flying  life,  which  charms  him  ;  anon  he  gazes 
entranced,  amazed,  breathless,  at  a  glacier  hanging  in 
whito,  green,  flashing  loveliness,  ten  thousand  feet 
above  him,  or  looks  with  awe  upon  a  valley  between 
two  ranges  filled  for  miles  and  miles  with  snow  to  the 
very  peaks,  as  he  remembers  that  the  human  race  is  not 
so  old  as  that  thawless  field  before  him.  Such  another 
five  hundred  miles  of  traveling  is  not  to  be  had  on  the 
face  of  the  earth.  If  this  strikes  the  reader  as  an  ex 
aggeration,  as  it  may  many  —  I  can  only  say  that  it  is 
not.  It  is  a  simple  statement  of  an  extraordinary  fact 
—  a  statement  which  every  traveler  whose  knowledge 
of  the  globe  is  adequate  for  comparison,  who  has  been 
over  these  five  hundred  miles,  will  confirm.  He  who 
journeys  from  Kananaskis  FaUs  to  Fraser  Canon  will 
experience  sensations  —  however  blase  with  world 
wide  travel  he  may  be  —  against  which  his  indurated 
nerves  are  not  proof. 

We  four  —  the  Inseparables,  as  the  Man  from  New 
Hampshire  facetiously  called  us  —  left  Banff  with 
bright  anticipations.  Our  eyes  were  as  open  to  see  and 
our  spirits  as  buoyant  as  if  we  were  boys.  We  had 
had  a  week  of  pleasure  at  the  "  Palace  of  Delight,"  as 
the  Judge  poetically  named  the  huge  hostelry  among 
the  mountains,  and  our  last  night  had  been  one  of  rol 
licking  enjoyment.  In  our  dispositions  we  typed  the 
best  habit  of  Americans  when  traveling;  —  the  habit 

o 

of  self -surrender  to  the  enjoyment  of  the  hour.  There 
can  be  no  question  on  one  point  concerning  our  coun 
trymen.  They  are  the  best  travelers  in  the  world, 
not  because  they  travel  the  most  and  spend  money  the 


214  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

freest  when  journeying,  but  because  they  get  more 
knowledge  and  happiness  out  of  travel  than  any  other 
people.  The  inconveniences  and  deprivations  which 
roughen  the  temper  of  the  average  Englishman  only 
quicken  the  humor  of  the  Yankee  and  supply  him  with 
entertainment.  He  travels  as  a  bird  flies,  utilizing  to 
his  enjoyment  the  opposition  of  adverse  currents,  feeds 
contentedly  on  the  wing,  and  sleeps  restfully  on  any 
perch  to  which  the  flaws  or  whirlwinds  of  unlucky  hap 
penings  by  day  or  night  have  gustily  blown  him. 
The  world  likes  him  and  he  likes  the  world,  and  hence 
he  finds  welcome  everywhere,  and  the  welcome  he  gets 
he  thoroughly  enjoys.  Like  a  snail,  he  carries  his 
home  around  with  him  on  his  back,  and  easily  adjusts 
himself  to  any  condition  of  shine  or  shade.  The  hap 
piest  mortal  one  can  meet  with  is  an  American  in  his 
travels.  Speaking  but  one  language  and  that  indiffer 
ently  well,  he  hobnobs  cheerfully  with  all  nations,  uses 
with  the  courage  of  ignorance  all  languages,  and 
makes  fast  friends  wherever  he  goes. 

We  started  from  Banff  in  the  best  of  spirits.  Had 
we  been  in  sombre  mood,  even,  the  extraordinary  vision 
of  beauty  and  sublimity  we  beheld  would  have  speedily 
brightened  it,  for  the  sun  was  just  rising  above  the 
eastern  mountains,  and  the  freshness  of  morning  was 
on  the  world  and  in  the  air  around  us.  Our  course  lay 
along  the  pebbly  banks  of  the  sparkling  Bow  and  up  a 
forest  valley.  We  skirted  the  Vermilion  Lakes  and 
ran  along  in  full  view  of  Mount  Massive  and  the  snowy 
peaks  above  Simpson's  Pass.  We  whirled  around  a 
curve,  and  the  eastern  view  of  Pilot  Mountain  flashed 


NAMELESS  MOUNTAINS. 


215 


whitely  upon    us,  and  then  in    a  moment    the  Castle 
jumped  into  sight,  and 
studied    with    de- 


we 


lighted  eyes  its  mighty 
precipice,  its  embattled 


turrets  and  shapes  of 
fantastic  armament. 

We  were  wise  enough 
to  be  boys.  We  felt 
no  indifference  and  we 
assumed  none.  We 
were  expectant,  recep 
tive,  full  of  happy  an 
ticipations,  with  un- 
jaded  nerves,  eager  to 
break  voice  in  our  ex 
citement  as  a  young, 
highly  bred  hound  in 
his  first  race. 

"  Judge,"  I  said, 
looking  into  his  flushed 
face  as  he  gazed  with 
delighted  eyes  at  the 
reflection  of  a  moun- 


216  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

tain  in  a  small  lake-like  pool  lying  waveless  at  its  base, 
"  Judge,  how  old  are  you  this  morning  ?  " 

"  Sixteen,  —  only  sixteen,  thank  God  !  "    he  cried. 

"  This  is  my  first  vacation  out  of  Darmouth,"  ex 
claimed  Colonel  Goffe;  and  he  swung  his  hat  and 
yelled  like  a  freshman  after  miraculously  passing  his 
first  term  examination. 

We  were  all  looking  for  the  first  glacier. 

"  There  it  is  !  "  I  cried  suddenly ;  and  I  pointed 
through  the  gap  towards  the  lofty  peak  of  Mount  Hec 
tor. 

Like  a  river  it  lay,  —  a  river  at  full  flow,  which  had 
been  frozen  solid  as  it  rolled  onward  and  downward  ; 
frozen  solid  and  broken  off,  leaving  only  a  crystallized 
section  exposed  to  the  eye. 

It  was  white,  with  green  lights  shot  through  its  frac 
tured  and  curved  extremity,  crescent  shaped  at  the 
end ;  a  monstrous  motion  suddenly  solidified  as  it 
plunged  downward,  and  fixed  forever  in  the  spot  where 
it  hung  suspended  high  up  and  far  off  in  the  air. 
Above  the  forest,  above  the  great  bulk  of  the  moun 
tain,  from  the  very  peak,  hung  that  strange,  monumen 
tal  appearance,  a  miracle  of  nature,  a  mystery  of  the 
elements,  a  wonder  to  the  tourist,  like  the  vision  of  a 
poet  or  a  dream  of  uneasy  slumber.  Glacier  after  gla 
cier  we  saw  after  that  as  we  rolled  onward  through  this 
region  of  marvelous  appearances,  this  land  of  enchant 
ment,  many  larger,  many  higher,  many  more  lovely, 
more  imposing,  but  none  of  the  hundreds  we  looked 
upon  later  impressed  us  more  powerfully  or  fixed  them 
selves  with  deeper  impression  upon  the  memory  than 


CATHEDRAL   PEAK. 


NAMELESS  MOUNTAINS.  219 

this  first  one  we  saw  chained  to  the  crest  of  Mount 
Hector. 

We  were  now  nearing  the  summit.  The  grade  rose 
steeply.  The  huge  engine  clomb  laboriously  upward. 
It  breathed  heavily,  like  a  chopper  in  prolonged  effort, 
when  his  axe  cuts  to  the  centre  of  the  tree  and  with 
quickening  blood  and  persistent  strokes  he  delivers  each 
successive  blow  more  fiercely.  The  cliffs  panted  back 
to  it.  Now  and  then  its  circular  feet  slipped,  but  it 
clung  desperately  to  the  rails. 

"  That  engine  has  good  grit,"  said  Mr.  Pepperell. 
"  How  it  hangs  to  it." 

"  I  feel  as  if  I  would  like  to  get  out  and  push,"  re 
plied  the  Judge. 

"  Do  it,  Judge,"  said  the  Man  from  New  Hampshire. 
"  I  '11  sit  on  this  camp  stool  and  hold  your  coat." 

"Colonel  Goffe,"  returned  the  Judge  sternly,  "the 
Court  fines  you  a  Reina  Victoria  for  that  contemptu 
ous  remark." 

"  All  the  sentences  of  this  Court  end  in  smoke,  I 
notice,"  retorted  the  Colonel,  as  he  handed  the  Judge 
his  cigar  case. 

"  Here  we  are  at  Summit  Lake,"  I  exclaimed ;  and 
even  as  I  spoke  the  engine  ceased  to  pant,  and  the  train 
began  to  ease  itself  along  swiftly. 

How  beautiful  is  a  pool  among  the  mountains ! 
Small  as  it  may  be,  how  it  can  collect  and  reflect  the 
great  world  above  and  around  it !  It  may  not  be  as 
big  as  a  cliff,  and  yet  a  hundred  cliffs  are  in  it.  A 
single  pine  may  bridge  it,  nevertheless  it  accommodates 
miles  upon  miles  of  forest.  Small  as  it  is,  the  great 


220  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

sun  comes  and  bathes  in  its  depth.  Acres  of  clouds 
float  through  it.  The  sky,  the  numberless  hills  with 
all  their  countless  trees,  the  mountains  so  vast,  their 
innumerable  peaks,  —  within  its  scant  space  all  are 
grouped  and  none  are  crowded.  Sweet  miracle  of  the 
woods,  placid  mirror  of  the  hills  and  skies,  gentle  eye 
of  the  forest  upon  whose  clear  retina  is  focused  the 
sublimities  of  heaven  and  the  beauties  of  surrounding 
earth,  how  often  hast  thou  lost  me  game  and  sport 
because  thy  loveliness  held  me  pensive  at  thy  grassy 
rim  ! 

"  I  wish,"  cried  the  Judge,  "  I  wish  I  could  stay  a 
week  here  and  do  nothing  but  sit  on  the  shore  of  that 
little  lake  and  gaze  into  its  depths." 

"  And  I  wish  I  could  be  the  artist  to  sketch  you  in 
that  position,"  said  Colonel  Goffe  dryly.  "  If  I  should 
put  you  in  the  foreground  you  would  hide  the  whole 
lake." 

Downward  we  rolled.  We  glided  smoothly  onward 
as  a  wing  in  easy  flight  cleaves  the  air. 

"  This  is  the  poetry  of  motion,"  cried  the  Judge. 
"  We  are  floating  around  this  mountain's  verge  as  if 
we  were  in  a  balloon." 

"  Look  at  this  !  "  Mr.  Pepperell  exclaimed.  "  Here 
is  a  picture  that  money  can't  buy." 

We  were  crossing  the  gorge  of  the  Wapta  River  and 
the  sublime  scenery  which  characterizes  this  section 
was  opening  up  ahead  of  us.  The  train  was  running 
very  slowly,  creeping  firmly  but  carefully  along.  It 
seemed  to  be  conscious,  and  to  be  clinging  tightly  and 
safely  to  the  mountain  around  whose  awful  curvature 


NAMELESS  MOUNTAINS,  221 

it  was  making  its  way  with  practiced  fortitude.  It  sug 
gested  a  sailor  busily  knotting  a  reef  at  the  yard's  end. 
It  is  a  frightful  suspension,  but  safe  —  to  him.  At  the 
right  of  us  the  mountain  sloped  downward  sharply  a 
clean  thousand  feet.  To  the  left  it  rose  nearly  sheer 
upward  eight  times  as  far.  A  black  cloud  smothered 
its  summit  from  a  hundred  gazing  eyes.  Within  its 
enveloping  blackness  a  glacier  lay  white,  cold,  and 
pulseless  in  its  eternal  swoon.  Suppose  it  should  be 
suddenly  shocked  into  life  and  motion  and  plunge 
wildly  downward  !  How  it  fascinates  you  to  imagine 
the  terrible  when  you  are  safe  ! 

To  the  north  a  valley,  wide,  far-reaching,  immense, 
a  landscape  in  itself,  unexplored,  stretched  away  in 
magnificent  perspective  to  distant  peaks,  white  with 
snow  that  will  never  melt.  Far  up  this  valley,  lifted 
high  among  nameless  summits  standing  like  grouped 
spear  points,  was  a  glacier,  wide  as  a  frozen  sea,  deep 
as  an  ocean,  un visited  as  yet  by  man,  half  of  it  in  black 
shadow,  half  flashing  with  blinding  whiteness  under  the 
sun,  a  mute  challenge  to  the  courage,  the  skill,  and  the 
science  of  the  continent  to  come  and  measure  and 
name  it. 

Ahead  of  us  Mount  Field  reared  high  its  black  sum 
mit.  Then  rose  Cathedral  Mount  upon  us,  faded  from 
sight,  and  came  again  into  view  as  we  glided  onward. 
A  majestic,  solemn,  suggestive  presentation  of  massive 
bulk  and  altitude  it  made,  standing  out  in  clear, 
sharply  edged  outlines  against  the  blue  sky.  While 
above  all,  loftier,  nobler,  more  varied  and  impressive, 
rose  the  vast  mass  known  as  Mount  Stephen. 


222 


DAYLIGHT  LAND. 


None  may  describe  this  mountain.  It  is  not  like  its 
fellows  round  about  it.  It  is  not  like  common  moun 
tains.  It  has  an  individuality  all  its  own.  Our  artist 
has  caught  its  spirit  and  given  a  resemblance  —  but  at 
what  a  remove  from  the  real  Mount  Stephen  itself.  It 


is  not  a  mountain  to  be  put  in  a  book,  to  be  printed  on 
a  page,  to  be  hung  on  a  wall.  Some  mountains  lend 
themselves  kindly  to  such  patronizing  treatment,  but 
Mount  Stephen  is  not  of  this  sort.  It  cannot  be  trans 
lated  from  the  wilderness  and  the  sky  on  to  canvas.  It 
cannot  be  snatched  from  its  envelopment  of  clouds  and 


NAMELESS  MOUNTAINS. 


223 


hung  from  a  peg  on  a  parlor  wall.  It  cannot  be 
coaxed  from  its  native  sunshine  and  shipped  to  Boston 
per  express.  It  is  a  mountain  to  go  to,  to  visit,  to  see 
brilliantly  revealed  in  the  sunlight,  to  gaze  at  dimly 
outlined  in  the  dark,  to  behold  in  the  light  of  dawn,  in 
the  red  of  sunset,  under  the  stars  of  night,  when  the 
moon  clothes  it  in  white  splendor  from  summit  to  base 
line.  Go  and  see  Mount  Stephen  so  and  you  shall  find 
in  the  vision  the  memory  of  a  lifetime. 


CHAPTER   XII. 


SABBATH    AMONG    THE    MOUNTAINS. 

T  was  the  Sabbath  day  and  we  were 
at  Field.     With  us  were  a  company, 
tourists  like  ourselves,  who  had  de 
cided  to  spend  our  Sabbath  among 
the  mountains,  making  of  it  a  day 
of  rest   in    truth.      And    if    among 
the  mountains,  where  better  than  at 
Field,  under  the  shadow  of  Mount  Stephen,  and  with 
a  multitude  of  majestic  altitudes  all  around  us. 

The  afternoon  was  well  advanced,  and  all  of  us,  quite 
an  audience  in  numbers,  were  grouped  on  the  piazza, 
when  we  saw  a  gentleman  strolling  down  the  track  to 
ward  the  hotel.  He  was  tall,  bronzed,  and  had  an 
Alpine  knapsack  at  his  back  and  a  note-book  in  his 
hand. 

66  There !  there  comes  the  clergyman  we  have  been 


SABBATH  AMONG  THE  MOUNTAINS.  227 

praying  for  all  day,"  cried  a  young  lady  to  her  com 
panion,  at  my  elbow.  "  There  comes  our  clergyman, 
and  now  we  can  have  a  regular  service ;  won't  that  be 
nice  !  "  And  her  pink  palms  met  in  a  way  to  express 
the  fervor  of  her  religious  enthusiasm. 

"  Jennie,  dear,"  said  her  companion,  a  motherly 
looking  lady,  "  you  are  always  jumping  to  your  con 
clusions.  How  do  you  know  the  gentleman  is  a  clergy 
man  at  all  ?  " 

"  Ah,  I  know  he  is,"  she  reiterated  with  emphasis. 

"  But  how  do  you  know  ?  "  the  other  insisted. 

"  Well,  because  —  because  —  he  don't  look  a  bit 
like  one  !  "  she  replied. 

Nevertheless,  in  spite  of  the  young  lady's  assertion, 
the  gentleman  who  was  slowly  approaching  us  did  look 
somewhat  like  a  clergyman.  And  when  he  had  joined 
us  and  we  had  engaged  him  in  conversation,  our  im 
pression  as  to  his  clerical  status  was  deepened,  for  he 
spoke  with  much  feeling  and  with  true  spiritual  dis 
cernment  of  the  religious  relations  of  nature.  But 
whatever  doubt  remained  was  suddenly  dissipated  when 
he  opened  his  knapsack,  for  as  he  did  so  the  leaves 
of  a  manuscript  closely  and  careful  written  were  plainly 
discernible. 

"  My  dear  sir,"  said  the  Judge,  "  I  cannot  but  con 
sider  your  coming  as  providential.  This  is  the  Lord's 
day,  and  here  we,  a  company  of  Christian  wanderers, 
find  ourselves  spending  the  holy  day  among  the  ever 
lasting  hills.  We  desired  to  hold  a  religious  service, 
but  are  as  a  flock  without  a  shepherd,  for  there  is  not 
a  clergyman  among  all  this  large  number  of  tourists. 


228  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

But  now  we  are,  if  I  mistake  not,  delivered  from  our 
dilemma,  for  you,  my  dear  sir,  are  —  are  you  not  a 
clergyman  ?  " 

"  I  am  sorry  that  I  am  compelled  to  disappoint  you," 
answered  the  man,  "  but  I  am  not  a  clergyman." 

"  Not  a  clergyman  !  "  exclaimed  the  Judge ;  "surely, 
sir,  that  manuscript  there  must  be  "  — 

"  No,  that  is  not  a  sermon,"  interrupted  the  stranger, 
smiling.  "  It  is  only  a  story." 

"  I  think  a  story  is  as  good  as  a  sermon,  any  time," 
cried  the  young  lady  who  had  been  so  confident  that 
the  new-comer  was  a  clergyman.  "  And  if  it  is  n't 
too  awfully  jolly,  I  wish  the  gentleman  would  read  it 
to  us.  My  eyes  ache  from  looking,  and  I  would  like 
to  close  them  and  see  with  my  ears,  as  papa  says,  for 
half  an  hour." 

"  My  dear  sir,"  exclaimed  the  Judge,  "  the  young 
lady  has  voiced  my  feelings  admirably  and  I  doubt  not 
the  wishes  of  the  company,  and  if  your  story  is  not  of 
too  light  a  nature,  I  pray  you  read  it  to  us,  and  feel 
that  you  are  doing  us  all  a  positive  service.  I  can 
promise  you,  sir,  an  attentive  audience." 

"  The  story  I  would  read  you  is  sober  enough  for 
the  day,"  responded  the  man,  "  and  suggests  a  theme 
fit  to  be  meditated  on  within  the  shadow  of  these 
awful  surroundings  even ;  nor  will  it  be  of  less  value 
because  it  is  of  the  nature  of  a  personal  experience. 
If  you  will  arrange  yourselves  to  easily  hear  me,  I  will 
gladly  read  you  the  story." 

In  a  moment  some  fifty  of  us  were  grouped  around 
the  stranger,  and  certainly  no  preacher  or  author  ever 


ROSS    PEAK. 


SABBATH  AMONG  THE   MOUNTAINS.  231 

had  a  more  attentive  audience  than  we  gave  him  as 
he  read  the  strange  tale ;  and  surely  it  would  take  a 
long  search  to  find  a  sermon  weighted  with  a  more 
startling  thought.  At  least,  so  many  of  us  said  at  the 
end  of  it. 

THE  TWO  GRAVES. 

It  was  in  the  autumn  of  1878,  that  I  found  myself 
riding  through  that  portion  of  Canada  which  borders 
the  northern  shore  of  the  Ottawa,  some  hundred  miles 
above  its  junction  with  the  St.  Lawrence.  The  day 
was  one  of  a  series  peculiar  to  that  time  of  the  year 
and  that  section  of  the  country.  The  heat  of  summer 
had  departed,  chilled  southward  by  the  advancing 
frost  which  the  arctic  cold  had  posted  in  advance  to 
give  warning  of  its  approach.  But  in  the  valleys 
and  along  the  hedgerows  which  skirted  the  southern 
exposure  of  the  mountains,  the  delicious  warmth  still 
lingered,  as  if  loth  to  leave  the  pleasant  haunts  where 
it  had  so  long  tarried,  happy  in  the  music  of  the  run 
ning  brooks  and  the  birds  that  sang  in  the  odorous 
bushes. 

Indeed,  it  seemed  as  if  here  and  there  it  had  deter 
mined  to  resist  its  savage  foe  ;  for  in  nooks  where  the 
russet  leaves  lay  thickest  and  in  the  wedge-like  crevices 
of  ledges  it  kept  almost  its  August  warmth,  as  if  it  felt 
safe  to  await  a  fiercer  attack  behind  such  formidable 
barricades. 

I  had  ridden  already  a  goodly  distance,  and  neither 
I  nor  my  horse  was  in  a  mood  to  hurry ;  the  reins  lay 
loosely  on  his  neck,  and  he  picked  his  way  along  the 


232  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

grass-grown  path  with  the  leisurely  step  peculiar  to 
his  species  when  neither  their  inclination  nor  that  of 
their  riders  urge  them  to  a  faster  gait.  Perhaps  he  as 
well  as  I  enjoyed  not  merely  the  slowness  of  the  pace, 
but  the  nature  of  the  surroundings  also ;  for  his  large, 
observant  eyes  studied  the  flaming  bushes  as  closely 
as  mine,  and  to  his  senses  the  mingled  odors  of  the 
dying  grasses  and  withered  leaves,  blended  with  the 
fragrance  of  the  evergreens  that  live  on  through  win 
ter  and  summer  alike,  may  have  been  as  grateful  as 
they  were  to  mine  as  I  breathed  them  in. 

I  had  just  turned  a  curve  in  the  road  and  was  de 
scending  a  gentle  slope  —  a  mountain  on  my  left  and 
a  stretch  of  level  woodland  on  my  right  —  when  I  sud 
denly  came  upon  a  clearing,  of  some  three  acres  in  ex 
tent,  enclosed  by  a  fence.  Age  had  weakened  the 
settings  of  the  posts,  and  it  no  longer  kept  the  trueness 
of  the  original  lines,  but  sagged  and  swayed  at  dif 
ferent  points,  while  here  and  there  the  winds  of  winter 
had  blown  sections  of  it  prone  to  the  ground.  The 
grasses  had  grown  through  the  palings,  and  masses  of 
running  vines  formed  over  them,  whose  leaves  were 
now  aflame  with  color. 

I  instinctively  checked  my  horse  to  more  closely  in 
spect  this  unexpected  opening  in  the  woods,  involun 
tarily  looking,  as  I  did  so,  for  the  house  or  the  ruins 
of  the  house  that  one  day  stood,  as  I  naturally  sup 
posed,  in  the  clearing ;  and  it  was  not  until  I  had 
quite  reined  my  horse  into  the  cleared  space,  passing 
through  a  gap  which  the  winds  had  made  in  the 
enclosure,  and  looked  the  field  over  more  closely,  that 


SABBATH   AMONG   THE   MOUNTAINS.  233 

I  discerned  that  it  had  never  been  intended  for  human 
habitation,  at  least  not  for  the  habitation  of  the  living, 
but  had  rather  been  set  apart  for  the  repose  of  the 
dead.  The  space,  in  short,  into  which  I  had  ridden, 
was  a  cemetery. 

No  sooner  had  I  made  this  discovery  than,  impelled 
by  curiosity  in  part,  and  in  part  by  reverence,  I  dis 
mounted,  and  throwing  the  reins  over  a  post  which 
had  once  been  one  of  the  pillars  of  the  main  entrance, 
I  strolled  further  into  the  solemn  field,  with  emotions 
such  as  would  be  natural  to  a  man  entering  a  grave 
yard  thus  suddenly  discovered  in  the  depths  of  the 
woods. 

"  Here,"  I  said  to  myself,  "  the  former  settlers  of 
this  once  inhabited  but  now  deserted  region  lie  buried. 
A  majestic  place  for  a  burial  ground,  truly ;  "  and  I 
glanced  upward  at  the  surrounding  mountains  which 
lifted  their  vast  sides  round  about  the  vale.  "  Truly," 
I  continued,  "  here  is  a  fitting  place  for  the  weary  to 
rest  after  the  trials  and  fatigues  of  life.  The  aged 
who  had  long  borne  the  heat  and  burden  of  the  day 
and  they  who  were  suddenly  checked  in  manhood's 
swift  career,  husband  and  wife,  parent  and  child,  all 
could  here  find  the  peace  which  comes  after  strife, 
and  that  sweet  rest  which  waits  on  human  toil.  It  is 
pleasant  to  think  that  nature,  after  the  fret  and  fever 
of  life  were  over,  so  kindly  provided  them,  amid  the 
very  scenes  where  they  toiled  and  doubtless  suffered,  a 
place  to  repose." 

Thus  moralizing,  I  cast  my  eyes  about  to  discover 
the  number  and  the  grouping  of  the  graves,  not  doubt- 


234  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

ing  I  should  find  many,  and  with  them  monumental 
evidences,  of  however  humble  a  sort,  that  affection  had 
remembered  them  when  they  had  passed  away;  but 
to  my  astonishment  I  could  discover  only  two  graves 
within  the  entire  enclosure.  These  were  situated  side 
by  side,  on  a  slight  elevation  that  swelled  its  summit 
near  the  centre  of  the  enclosure.  Confident  that 
further  searching  would  reveal  more  to  me,  I  made  a 
careful  inspection  of  the  field,  until  I  had  traversed  it 
from  corner  to  corner  and  had  convinced  myself  that 
this  strange  graveyard  was  so  not  only  because  of  its 
location,  a  place  set  apart  for  the  dead  where  there 
were  none  to  die,  but  also  because,  large  as  it  was,  it 
held  but  two  graves. 

66  A  stranger  graveyard  than  this,"  I  said  to  my 
self,  "  was  never  seen,  for  of  all  the  burial  places  that 
men  ever  set  apart,  of  such  goodly  dimensions  as  this, 
I  doubt  if  there  be  another  on  the  face  of  the  whole 
earth  so  sparsely  populated  :  the  tenantry  of  kindred 
fields  is  generally  crowded  enough,  and  he  who  has 
the  fortune  to  occupy  a  place  therein  never  lacks  for 
neighbors.  I  will  approach  the  graves  and  see  what 
memorial  affectionate  custom  has  traced  upon  these 
lonely  slabs."  So  saying,  I  drew  near  to  the  two  graves 
and  proceeded  to  inspect  them  more  closely. 

They  were  placed  some  eight  feet  apart,  both  facing 
to  the  south.  It  was  evident  from  the  size  of  the 
mounds  that  they  had  been  builded  for  adult  bodies, 
and  apparently  near  the  same  time.  The  grasses  had 
matted  thickly  over  both,  and  a  running  vine  whose 
main  root  had  sprung  from  the  earth  equidistant  be- 


SABBATH  AMONG  THE  MOUNTAINS.  235 

tween  the  two  had  sent  a  branch  out  impartially  to 
ward  each.  It  had  grown  so  luxuriantly  that  it  had 
embraced  either  mound,  and  sent  its  creeping  tendrils 
even  to  the  top  of  the  two  short  and  narrow  slabs  of 
plainly-wrought  stone,  such  as  rude  skill  might  easily 
have  quarried  from  the  ledge  in  the  neighboring 
ravine.  It  seemed  as  if  nature  had,  by  the  growth  of 
her  vine,  tenderly  united  in  suggestive  unity  the  two 
mounds,  which,  standing  farther  apart  and  without  con 
nection,  would  have  been  lonely  indeed.  "  Surely,"  I 
said  to  myself,  "  this  is  a  quaint  and  touching  spec 
tacle.  Only  two  graves  in  all  this  field,  and  they  lying 
side  by  side  on  this  little  eminence  and  so  affectingly 
connected.  Is  there  some  sweet  conscience  in  nature 
which  forbids  her  to  decorate  the  one  and  leave  the 
other  unadorned  ?  "  And  I  remembered  the  saying 
that  the  rain  falleth  alike  on  the  just  and  unjust. 
"  I  doubt  not,"  I  continued,  "  that  these  two  who  sleep 
here  were  brothers,  who  had  nursed  at  one  maternal 
breast ;  who  had  labored  in  this  vale  and  on  these  hills 
side  by  side,  and  who,  struck  down  by  death,  perhaps 
simultaneously,  were  brought  by  reverential  hands  in 
the  slow  and  solemn  fashion  of  the  country  and  with 
priestly  benediction  laid  side  by  side.  Or  perhaps  they 
were  two  friends  strongly  attached,  some  David  and 
Jonathan  of  this  forest  glade,  who,  being  so  closely 
united  in  life  as  to  furnish  a  proverb  of  loving  compan 
ionship,  in  death  were  not  divided." 

Filled  with  such  pleasant  imaginings,  I  kneeled  on 
one  of  the  mounds  and  with  my  hand  gently  moved 
aside  the  viney  tracery  that  garnished  its  white  surface 


236  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

with  ruddy  ornament,  in  order  to  read  what  might  be 
carved  beneath. 

"James  Flynn,  aged  60  years,  8  mos.  and  9  days. 
Born  April  10th,  17—.  Died  Nov.  14th,  18—." 

I  then  turned  toward  the  other  mound,  and  kneeling 
on  it  lifted  the  vine  from  the  face  of  the  other  slab 
and  read,  — 

"  John  Peters,  aged  61  years.  Born  May  19th, 
17—.  Died  Nov.  14th,  18—." 

"  Buried  the  same  day,"  I  said,  rising  to  my  feet. 
"  Buried  the  same  day,  and  for  these  thirty  years  their 
dust  has  mouldered  side  by  side.  Old  men  too,  honest 
and  honored,  I  doubt  not ;  brothers  they  certainly  were 
not,  but  friends  they  must  have  been,  or  surely  they 
would  not  have  found  such  close  vicinage  in  death. 
Old  men,  who  had  lived  their  lives  out  until  the  cres 
cent  of  their  youth  had  come  to  the  full  rounded  orb 
of  its  perfect  sphere.  Happy  in  having  outlived  their 
passions  and  the  frailties  and  bitternesses  that  come 
therefrom,  happy  indeed  were  they,"  I  added,  "  in 
having  entered,  before  they  came  to  their  tomb,  that 
peace  and  pleasantness  of  mood  which  give  to  the 
aged  the  chief est  beauty  of  their  earthly  life  and  the 
perfect  preparation  for  the  life  to  come." 

While  I  had  thus  been  pleasantly  musing  I  had  al 
most  unconsciously  been  walking  toward  my  horse,  and 
with  my  mind  still  filled  with  the  thought  of  the  two 
graves  I  had  so  suddenly  found,  and  was  so  soon  to 
leave,  I  placed  my  reins  on  the  neck  of  the  animal  and 
my  foot  in  the  stirrup,  saying  as  I  did  so,  "  I  would 
that  I  knew  the  history  of  the  two  graves  thus  so 


SABBATH   AMONG  THE  MOUNTAINS.  239 

strangely  placed  in  this  quiet  field,  and  of  the  two  men 
who  have  slept  and  are  destined  to  sleep  so  long  in 
them  side  by  side." 

"  I  can  tell  you  the  history  of  the  two  men  "  — 
I  turned  so  suddenly  at  the  unexpected  sound  of  a 
human  voice  that  the  speaker  was  checked  in  the  midst 
of  the  sentence  he  was  uttering.  He  was  a  man, 
old  and  white  headed  and  bowed  with  years,  for  he 
carried  a  staff  in  one  hand  and  was  even  then  leaning 
heavily  upon  it.  I  noticed  also  that  the  hand  that 
grasped  the  stick  trembled  and  shook  with  that  pecu 
liar  tremulousness  which  so  often  accompanies  the 
weakening  of  muscular  power.  Was  it  something  in 
the  fit  and  color  of  his  garments,  was  it  something 
in  the  dignity  of  his  mien,  or  was  it  because  of  the 
peaceful  expression  of  his  countenance  ?  From  which 
ever  one  of  these  causes,  perhaps  from  them  all  com 
bined,  I  conceived  that  he  belonged  to  the  clergy. 

"  Eeverend  sir,"  said  I,  releasing  my  foot  from  the 
stirrup  and  turning  toward  him,  "  reverend  sir,"  said 
I,  and  I  uncovered  my  head,  "  I  am  journeying  through 
the  country  with  a  companion  who  is  now  on  the  road 
some  miles  behind  me,  and  coming  suddenly  upon  this 
opening,  I  observed  the  two  graves  yonder  and  judged 
that  this  was  a  graveyard.  Moved  by  that  impulse 
common  to  human  hearts  in  so  solemn  a  place,  I  en 
tered  the  enclosure  to  discover  what  memorials  affec 
tion  had  reared  above  those  who  sleep.  But  to  my 
astonishment  I  have  been  able  to  find  only  two  graves 
in  all  the  field,  and  I  was  marvelling,  as  you  inter 
rupted  me,  at  the  strange  spectacle  ;  so  strange  that 


240  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

I  doubt  if  its  equal  can  be  found  in  all  the  world,  the 
spectacle  of  a  graveyard  with  only  two  graves." 

"  I  doubt  not/'  responded  the  old  man,  "  that  your 
observation  is  correct,  for  though  I  have  seen  many 
graveyards  myself,  and  helped  to  lay  many  to  sleep 
therein,  I  know  no  other  allotted  to  men's  final  repose 
in  which  the  number  of  those  who  sleep  is  so  small ;  " 
and  he  added,  "  I  would  that  these  were  not  here,  for 
a  sadder  lesson  than  they  teach  has  never  been  my  lot 
to  learn,  and  the  recollection  they  recall,  as  I  behold 
them  lying  here  alone,  forms  one  of  the  saddest  mem 
ories  of  my  life." 

"  You  speak,  reverend  sir  —  for  I  judge  you  to  be  a 
clergyman  —  as  if  you  had  knowledge  of  them." 

The  old  man  paused  a  moment  before  he  replied. 
His  eyes  were  turned  toward  the  two  graves,  and  in 
them  was  a  far-away  look  as  if  they  ranged  backward 
across  the  dim  distance  of  many  years  ;  then  he  added, 
"  I  officiated  at  the  service  when  those  two  graves  were 
made." 

"  Indeed,"  I  exclaimed,  "  indeed  !  then  may  I  hope 
to  learn  something  of  their  history,  and  how  it  comes 
about  that  only  two  sleep  in  this  sacred  field  and  they 
sleep  side  by  side.  I  should  like  to  know  of  the  lives 
of  those  who  are  its  only  occupants.  Surely  there  must 
have  been  some  peculiar  history  attached  to  them,  — 
some  tender  passage  in  their  lives,  a  life-long  sympa 
thy  of  a  notable  and  noble  sort,  —  to  account  for  the 
fact  that  two,  who  by  their  names,  it  would  seem,  were 
not  akin,  should  thus  be  lying  in  their  last  sleep  like 
brothers,  inseparable  even  in  death." 


SABBATH  AMONG  THE   MOUNTAINS.  241 

"  Your  surmises  are  far  from  correct,"  replied  the 
venerable  man.  "  They  were  not  brothers,  as  you  have 
suggested,  they  were  not  even  friends,  they  were  bitter 


enemies." 


"  Enemies  !  "  exclaimed  I,  "  enemies  !  great  heavens  ! 
How  came  they  then  to  be  buried  side  by  side  ?  " 

"  Your  astonishment  is  but  natural,"  was  the  an 
swer.  "  It  was  strange,  it  was  unnatural,  it  was  even 
irreverent,  but  it  was  in  accordance  with  their  wish,  — 
I  may  say  their  express  command." 

"  I  pray  you,"  said  I,  rehitching  my  horse  at  the 
post,  "  I  pray  you,  if  your  leisure  permits,  tell  me  the 
tale,  for  certain  it  is  that  my  mind  cannot  conceive 
why  two  enemies  should  desire  to  be  buried  side  by 
side.  Surely  human  life  is  long  enough  to  exhaust  the 
force  of  human  hatred ;  or  is  it  a  part  of  that  fierce 
fire  which  is  never  quenched,  not  even  by  the  waters 
of  death,  or  the  smothering  dampness  of  the  grave  ?  " 

"  I  will  comply  with  your  request,"  responded  the 
aged  man,  "  for  I  am  weary  with  walking  and  would 
willingly  rest  a  little  space  before  I  pursue  my  way.  You 
must  know,  then,"  he  continued,  as  he  seated  himself 
on  a  stone  opposite  me,  "  you  must  know  that  I  visited 
this  place  partly  that  I  might  see  once  more  the 
beauties  of  nature  in  this  secluded  spot,  and  partly  that 
my  eyes  might  behold  again  the  scenes  that  were  once 
so  familiar  and,  I  may  add,  so  grateful  to  them. 

"  Thirty  years  ago  this  little  vale,  now  so  reposeful, 
resounded  with  the  hum  of  human  activity.  In  yonder 
mountain  side  you  can  find  a  shaft  sunk  by  the  miners' 
skill,  in  search  of  the  rich  ores  which  were  then  be- 


242  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

lieved  to  lie  buried  within  its  sides.  Here,  in  the 
depths  of  the  forest,  a  village  sprang  up,  as  it  were  in 
a  day,  and  men  of  many  nationalities  came  pouring 
into  this  secluded  glen  in  what  proved  to  be  a  vain 
search  for  gold.  Providence  guided  me  to  this  spot, 
even  with  the  first  wagon  train  that  penetrated  here, 
and  here  I  stayed  and  ministered  the  best  I  might  to 
their  eternal  good,  until  the  last  wagon  left  the  glen 
forever.  Ah,  those  were  stirring  and  noisy  times," 
mused  the  old  man,  as  if  he  once  more  saw  the  bustle 
and  heard  the  noise  of  the  busy  encampment.  "  A 
hundred  axes  swept  the  mighty  trees  from  yonder 
slope,  and  half  a  hundred  cabins  rose  as  by  magic  on 
the  banks  of  yonder  brawling  stream.  The  giant  pines 
that  then  stood  where  is  now  this  clearing  furnished 
the  walls  of  their  habitations,  and  from  yonder  rock, 
by  which  that  aged  beech-tree  stands,  I  preached  the 
best  I  might,  to  those  who  came  seeking  earthly  wealth, 
of  that  other  treasure  which  neither  moth  nor  rust  can 
corrupt,  nor  thieves  break  through  and  steal." 

"  I  do  not  doubt,"  I  said,  as  the  venerable  man 
paused  a  moment  in  the  recital  of  his  early  efforts  to 
lead  men  to  be  wise,  "  that  your  endeavors  were  as 
successful  as  I  feel  they  were  earnest." 

"  They  were  not  wholly  in  vain,"  replied  the  other 
reverently,  "  for  I  had  the  everlasting  word  and  the 
spirit  that  quickeneth  to  assist  me,  and  even  the  fool 
ishness  of  preaching  did  not  wholly  fail.  For  with 
two  exceptions  the  toilers  in  the  mines  and  they  who 
tilled  the  open  spaces,  where  nature  made  tillage  pos 
sible,  lived  in  peace  one  with  another  and  outwardly, 
at  least,  kept  the  laws  of  God. 


SABBATH   AMONG   THE  MOUNTAINS.  243 

"  I  said  all  but  two ;  these  two  were  men  of  another 
country  and  another  clime.  Both  were  dark  of  face 
and  mood,  and  scarred  in  unknown  fights.  It  was 
whispered  that  they  had  met  in  deadly  conflict  years 
before,  and  that  the  scars  of  each  were  of  wounds  made 
by  the  other.  But  none  knew,  perhaps,  for  certain,  for 
they  were  of  a  sort  little  given  to  speech  and  told  their 
history  to  none. 

"  That  they  hated  each  other  they  did  not  conceal, 
and  their  hatred  was  of  that  quiet  and  deadly  sort 
most  painful  to  see.  They  were  not  loved  by  any. 
They  were  even  shunned  by  those  with  whom  they 
toiled.  Indeed,  they  were  the  dark  spirits  of  the  camp, 
for  it  might  scarce  be  called  a  settlement,  and  their 
presence  was  universally  regretted ;  and  yet  they  made 
no  disturbance ;  but  whether  from  the  peculiar  order 
liness  of  their  surroundings  or  because  each  with  the 
patience  of  deadly  cunning  bided  his  time,  there  was 
no  outbreak  between  them. 

"  For  two  years  they  worked  side  by  side.  By  a 
strange  fortune,  for  the  cabins  were  built  in  common 
and  then  drawn  for  by  lot,  the  one  drew  No.  20,  and 
the  other  21,  and  so  thev  lived  side  by  side  in  silent 
hatred." 

"It  was  a  terrible  way  to  live,"  I  remarked,  for 
the  strange  tale  interested  me  deeply,  "  and  certainly 
a  stranger  fortune  never  befell  two  foes,  than  to  thus 
meet  in  a  foreign  land,  scarred  by  each  other's  blows, 
and  toil  side  by  side  by  day  and  live  in  houses  that 
almost  touched,  hating  each  other  with  terrible  hatred, 
and  yet  never  exchanging  word  or  blow." 


244  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

"  It  was,  indeed,"  returned  the  old  man,  "a  terrible 
way  indeed,  and  I  did  what  I  could  to  bring  them  to  a 
better  mind.  God  knows  I  labored  with  them  and 
strove  in  prayer  in  their  behalf ;  but  my  labor  was  in 
vain,  and  my  prayers,  for  some  wise  purpose,  were 
never  answered,  for  their  hearts  remained  hardened, 
and  I  could  make  no  salutary  impression  on  their 
wicked  souls. 

"  The  mines,  which  at  first  had  been  productive,  sud 
denly  gave  out  and  no  longer  paid  the  expenses  of 
working  them.  And  at  the  end  of  two  years  they 
were  abandoned  and  the  settlement  prepared  to  dis 
perse.  When  scarcely  a  dozen  remained  and  these, 
myself  among  the  number,  were  preparing  to  follow 
those  who  were  already  gone,  the  two  men,  who  had 
made  no  preparations  to  go  and  were  evidently  intend 
ing  to  remain,  for  the  purpose,  I  doubt  not,  of  meet 
ing  once  more  in  savage  conflict  with  none  near  to 
thwart  their  deadly  intent,  were  suddenly  taken  sick. 
Humanity  forbade  that  we  should  desert  them,  and  we 
tarried  until  the  end  should  appear,  but  their  sickness 
was  unto  death,  and  we  had  not  long  to  wait. 

"  They  died  the  same  night.  The  one  but  a  few 
moments  before  the  other.  I  attended  at  their  death 
beds,  but  had  no  other  reward  than  the  consciousness 
of  duty  done.  The  one  that  died  first  showed  no 
concern  save  for  one  thing ;  asked  but  one  question, 
Would  the  other  die  ?  A  brother  miner  standing  by 
his  side  answered,  '  He  will  not  live  an  hour.' 

"  For  an  instant  the  light  of  a  wild,  fierce  satisfaction 
blazed  balefully  from  the  eyes  that  were  already  half 


EAST    OTTERTAIL. 


SABBATH  AMONG  THE  MOUNTAINS.  247 

eclipsed  behind  the  shadow  of  death,  and  in  what 
seemed  to  us  to  be  an  imprecation  breathed  in  an  un 
known  tongue,  the  wretched  man  straightened  himself 
in  his  bed,  and  with  the  deadly  scowl  still  on  his  face, 
and  the  passing  curse  still  quivering  on  his  lips,  died. 
It  was  a  terrible  scene,  sir." 

"  It  must  have  been,"  I  exclaimed,  "  it  must  have 
been  ;  but  did  the  other  show  no  repentance  ?  " 

"  None  whatever,"  was  the  mournful  reply.  "  From 
the  presence  of  the  dead  I  went  to  the  presence  of  the 
dying.  A  miner  who  had  worked  by  his  side  in  the 
shaft,  and  was  in  some  sort  a  comrade,  was  standing 
by  his  cot  as  I  drew  near.  Life  was  fast  ebbing  away, 
and  what  might  be  done  must  be  done  quickly.  I 
begged  that  I  might  pray  with  him.  He  refused.  I 
gently  urged  him  to  repentance.  He  smiled  in  mock 
ery.  Suddenly  starting  from  the  deadly  stupor  settling 
on  him,  he  asked  the  miner  if  his  enemy  were  living. 
He  was  told  that  the  man  had  even  then  died.  A  look 
of  fiendish  satisfaction  flashed  through  the  gloom  of 
his  swarth  face,  and  lifting  his  clenched  fists  he  brought 
them  down,  smiting  the  couch  with  dying  energy,  as  if 
it  were  the  head  of  his  foe. 

"  '  Have  you  any  wish  to  leave  behind  you  ? '  asked 
his  comrade. 

"  '  Yes,'  he  answered,  and  the  words  were  hissed 
from  between  his  teeth  with  indescribable  fierceness. 
*  Yes.  Make  my  grave  close  beside  his,  damn  him.' 

"  It  was  a  terrible  scene,  a  terrible  scene,"  exclaimed 
the  old  man,  and  for  a  moment  he  hid  his  face  in  his 
hands  as  if  the  distance  of  thirty  years  were  not  enough 
to  shut  it  from  his  eyes.  At  length  he  resumed,  — 


248  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

"  Unnatural  and  terrible  as  it  was,  we  felt  con 
strained,  at  least  the  miners  did,  to  obey  the  dying  be 
hest  ;  and  so  on  the  morrow  the  men  who  had  hated 
each  other  in  life,  and  hated  each  other  in  death,  were 
buried  side  by  side." 

The  old  man  paused  at  this  point  a  moment,  evi 
dently  oppressed  by  the  memory  of  human  passion  and 
wickedness  he  had  been  narrating.  At  length  his 
eyes  wandered  toward  the  two  graves  which  nature 
had  so  impartially  adorned,  and  upon  which  nature's 
sun  was  now  shining  so  kindly,  and  he  added,  — 

66  There  have  they  slept  these  thirty  years,  side  by 
side,  unknown  and  unnoted,  save  by  some  chance 
traveler  like  yourself.  And  there  will  they  sleep  until 
the  resurrection  trump  shall  sound  and  they  shall  rise 
at  its  commanding  summons." 

"  Surely,"  I  exclaimed,  "  surely  that  morn  will  not 
find  them  in  their  hatred.  Surely,  reverend  sir,  you 
cannot  believe  that  when  the  trumpet  of  the  Lord  shall 
sound,  and  men  come  forth  in  obedience  to  its  call, 
these  two  shall  rise  with  the  old  hatred  in  their  souls  ?  " 

"  I  cannot  tell  as  one  who  speaks  from  knowledge," 
answered  the  old  man,  "  but  I  have  studied  the  charac 
ters  of  men  these  sixty  years,  and  noted  the  laws  that 
seemed  to  underlie  their  changes,  but  have  seen  noth 
ing  to  warrant  the  belief  that  character,  once  settled 
and  confirmed,  ever  changes.  Habits  change,  men 
acquire  new  expression  for  their  powers,  but  the  char 
acter  itself  remains  permanent  and  solidly  fixed  as  the 
everlasting  hills,  unless  previous  to  death  a  change  is 
wrought  by  the  Spirit  through  repentance." 


SABBATH  AMONG   THE  MOUNTAINS.  249 

"  But,  sir/'  I  exclaimed,  "  does  death,  then,  do  noth 
ing  for  us,  and  does  the  grave  not  bring  a  cooling  to 
the  fierce  heat  of  human  passion  ?  Surely  one  might 
judge  by  the  way  in  which  men  of  your  profession 
speak  at  funeral  scenes,  that  at  the  close  of  life,  even 
in  the  act  of  its  closing,  there  comes  to  men  a  needed 
and  a  blessed  correction.  Certainly  I  have  heard  them 
so  express  themselves,  and  I  myself  have  found  comfort 
in  the  faith  that  amid  the  darkest  clouds  of  death  the 
mourner's  eye  could  always  see  a  star." 

"  I  know  that  under  the  pressure  of  the  scene,  and 
of  that  humane  desire,  strong  in  every  sympathetic 
heart,  to  speak  some  word  that  can  console  the  present 
grief,"  answered  the  old  man,  "  that  my  brethren  do 
thus  speak  at  funerals.  And  I  myself  have  often  been 
prompted  to  do  the  same  and  have  often  done  it,  but 
I  am  confident  that  the  impulse  of  the  moment  was 
not  born  of  reason  and  had  no  warrant  in  the  Scrip 
ture,  for  the  Scripture  saith,  '  As  the  tree  falls  so  shall 
it  lie,'  and  again,  '  Let  him  who  is  filthy  be  filthy 
still.'  And  in  these  sayings,  God  does  not,  as  I  con 
ceive,  speak  judgments  on  men,  but  simply  asserts  the 
permanence  of  human  character,  which,  amid  whatever 
of  ruin  may  have  come  to  it,  retains  at  least  the  dignity 
of  being  true  unto  itself." 

"  What  hope  is  there  for  man,  then? "  I  cried  out ;. 
"  for  if  no  blessed  change  may  come  and  all  must  be 
in  the  hereafter  even  as  they  are  here,  if  not  swift 
mercy  matches  the  swiftness  of  the  fatal  stroke,  how 
can  the  eternal  Father  adjust  the  feelings  of  his  bosom 
to  mortal  circumstance  ?  Venerable  man,  it  is  not  for- 


250  DAYLIGHT   LAND. 

ine,  who  am  untaught  in  doctrine,  to  argue  with  one 
like  you,  clerically  trained  and  wise  with  years,  but 
eternity  is  long  and  life  is  short.  The  cradle  and  the 
grave  are  ever  in  sight,  and  short  the  space  and  swift 
the  passage  from  the  one  to  the  other.  Must  there  not 
be  at  the  end  something  to  match  the  love  that  watched 
over  us  in  the  beginning,  some  sweet  forgiveness  to 
hover  on  tireless  wing  above  our  growing  faults,  some 
wisdom  to  constantly  point  out  and  some  love  to  per 
suade  us  unto  good,  and  in  the  end,  if  necessary,  some 
almighty  mercy  to  wipe,  with  one  brave  gesture  of 
atoning  pity,  the  stains  of  all  our  faults  and  sins  away  ? 
Say,  reverend  man,  does  no  such  divine  provision 
exist  ?  " 

It  is  but  just  to  say  that  the  old  man  was  profoundly 
affected  by  the  appeal,  which,  in  the  depth  of  my  long 
ing  for  human  kind  thus  stirred,  I  had  poured  forth 
with  unconscious  earnestness.  He  actually  groaned 
aloud,  as  if  on  his  spirit,  which  it  needed  but  a  glance 
at  his  benevolent  face  to  see  was  full  of  sweetest  pity 
for  all  the  erring,  there  rested  the  Atlas-like  load  of 
human  destiny.  He  groaned  aloud,  and  rising  from 
the  rock  on  which  he  had  been  resting,  he  lifted  his 
aged  face  to  the  skies  and  with  tears  marking  their 
course  down  his  wrinkled  cheeks,  he  said  :  — 

"  The  heavens  are  full  of  mercy,  that  I  know,  and 
motherhood  without  sex  divides,  at  least,  with  sterner 
elements  the  throne.  But  man  is  a  mighty  being ;  he 
is  too  great  to  change  or  be  changed,  save  by  his  own 
volition,  and  when  once  the  character  is  formed,  when 
the  tree  has  firmly  rooted  itself  and  clasped  the  move- 


SABBATH  AMONG  THE  MOUNTAINS.  251 

less  rock  beneath,  —  how  shall  it  change  ?  Whence 
shall  come  the  wish  to  change  ?  How  out  of  concen 
trated  evil  shall  be  born  the  holy  purpose  ?  But  young 
man,"  he  added,  as  he  took  my  hand,  "  you  are  young, 
and  I  would  not  dim  a  single  hope  that  lights  the 
world  ahead  of  you,  nor  would  I  dispel  any  happy  illu 
sion,  even,  that  may  solace  your  grief  when  grief  shall 
come.  For  even  illusions,  if  they  be  comforting,  may 
serve  a  divine  purpose.  No,  no,  live  happily,  in  hope 
ful  thoughts  of  men,  for  hope  is  often  truer  than  logic. 
But  these  men  were  matured.  Their  minds  fully 
made  up,  they  died  impenitent ;  aye,  resisting  over 
tures  of  mercy,  they  went  into  the  grave  mutually 
resisting  each  other.  What  is  there  in  that  silence 
yonder  ?  "  and  he  pointed  his  long  finger  toward  the 
little  eminence  on  which  the  two  graves  were,  "  what 
is  there  in  the  silence  of  their  long  sleep  there  to 
change  them  ?  Do  men  change  their  natures  in  slum 
ber  ?  Do  they  not  rise  as  they  lie  down  ?  The  trump 
will  sound.  Those  graves  will  open.  Those  sleepers 
there  will  wake  —  wake  from  their  long  sleep,  and  I 
fear  they  will  wake  hating  each  other  still.  For  hatred 
lives  with  the  immortality  of  all  ill ; "  and  with  these 
words  the  old  clergyman  bade  me  good-by  and  turned 
away. 

For  a  moment  his  eyes  studied  the  surrounding 
mountains  as  if  they  were  taking  their  long  and  affec 
tionate  farewell ;  for  a  moment  he  stood  and  listened 
to  the  soft,  musical  lapsing  of  the  stream  that  mur 
mured  through  the  glade,  and  then,  supported  by  the 
staff  he  held,  with  feet  that  brushed  the  ruddy  and 


252  DAYLIGHT   LAND. 

rustling  leaves  aside  as  they  walked  on,  he  passed 
slowly  up  the  lane  and  disappeared  from  view. 

My  conversation  with  the  old  clergyman  had  given 
me  ample  food  for  meditation.  The  strange  history  he 
had  told  and  the  fearful  supposition  he  had  advanced 
possessed  my  mind  to  the  exclusion  of  any  other  sub 
ject.  The  loneliness  of  the  secluded  spot,  when  he  had 
retired,  seemed  lonelier  than  before  he  had  joined  me. 
The  two  graves  seemed  to  deepen  the  solitude.  They 
no  longer  suggested  human  companionship,  but  alien 
ation,  and  between  the  two  I  seemed  to  see  a  great 
gulf  fixed,  deep  and  wide,  such  as  relentless  and  in 
terminable  enmity  digs  between  two  souls.  Would 
Heaven's  mercy  ever  bridge  a  gulf  like  that,  or  would 
it  yawn  unbridged  forever  ?  Was  the  old  man  right  ? 
Is  human  hatred  immortal  ?  Is  there  no  solvent  in  the 
grave  to  check  its  eating  corrosion  or  wash  its  deepen 
ing  stain  away  ?  Thus  I,  pondering,  questioned  destiny, 
and  pushed  my  thoughts  out  into  the  eternities.  How 
many  have  questioned  thus.  But  has  any  human  eye 
ever  seen  the  stony  lips  of  this  dreadful  sphinx  open 
in  answer,  or  has  any  human  ear  ever  heard  a  sure 
response  ? 

The  sun  shone  warmly  along  the  mountain  side  and 
showered  the  lonely  opening  with  its  beams.  The 
leaves  were  yellow  and  thick  at  my  feet,  and  my  faith 
ful  horse  dozed  at  his  post.  "  I  will  wait  for  the  com 
ing  of  my  companion,"  I  said,  and  casting  myself  amid 
the  warm  leaves  I  leaned  back  against  a  moss-covered 
stone,  and  thus,  half  reclining,  fell  asleep. 

What  are  dreams  ?  Are  they  prophecies  ?    Were  the 


THE   CHANCELLOR. 


SABBATH   AMONG   THE  MOUNTAINS.  255 

old  prophets  only  dreamers  ?  Are  they  senseless  move 
ments  of  the  thinking  faculty  ?  What  becomes  of  the 
mind  when  we  sleep  ?  Does  it  sleep  too,  or  is  it  able  to 
receive  impressions,  which  the  slumbering  senses  are 
then  unable  to  report  ?  Are  the  visions  that  come  to  it 
mere  fantasies,  void  of  truth  or  reason  ?  Who  can 
tell  ?  I  only  know  that  I  slept,  and  sleeping  dreamed. 
And  in  that  dream  I  was  changed  myself,  and  saw 
such  changes  in  earth  and  men  that  I  seek  in  vain  for 
words  with  which  to  describe  them. 

I  said  I  was  changed.  I  was.  I  was  grown  out  of 
and  above  my  old  self  and  had  become  a  new  being. 
New  sight  was  mine,  new  hearing  ;  I  could  see  every 
where  :  I  could  hear  everything.  I  ruled  space.  No 
sound,  no  motion  escaped  me.  It  was  marvellous. 
This  is  the  best  I  can  do  to  describe  the  change 
in  me. 

I  said  I  saw  changes.  I  did.  There  was  no  horizon 
to  my  vision.  My  sight  was  circular,  and  my  eyes 
flashed  great  zones  of  observation  round  the  globe  in 
stantly.  How  active  men  were,  and  how  idle  !  How 
sad,  and  how  merry  !  I  saw  them  being  born,  I  saw 
them  dying.  Some  were  praying,  some  were  carous 
ing,  some  were  dancing,  some  were  fighting  ;  and  the 
mighty  murmur  of  all  their  noises,  their  sobbing  and 
their  laughing,  their  groaning  and  their  cheering, 
their  praying  and  their  cursing,  as  it  swelled  up  from 
the  earth  and  rolled  its  waves  of  sound  around  the 
globe,  came  collectively  and  individually  into  my  ears, 
even  as  ordinary  sound  is  heard  by  us  in  waking  mo 
ments.  What  a  capacity  I  was,  while  like  a  god  I  lay, 


256  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

seeing  the  whole  world  and  hearing  all  its  varied 
noises.  Does  the  body  dwarf  us  so  ?  Does  it  bind  us 
with  withes  of  limitation  as  the  Philistines  did  Samson  ; 
and  is  death  but  the  snapping  of  the  cords  in  the  sev 
erance  of  which  there  comes  back  to  us  the  mighty 
and  original  strength  ?  I  wonder. 

Suddenly,  even  as  I  was  looking  with  this  all-per 
ceiving  vision,  and  listening  with  this  all  -  receiving 
sense  of  hearing,  silence  fell  on  the  world.  Not  a 
noise  ;  not  a  voice ;  not  a  whisper.  The  guns  of  war 
were  dumb.  Men  were  dumb.  Volcanoes  were  smoth 
ered  by  their  last  explosion  and  their  craters  yawned 
silently.  The  waves  stiffened  and  stood  rigid.  Birds, 
checked  in  mid  flight,  hung  fixed,  as  if  nailed  to  the 
sky.  All  living  things  stood  still.  The  hush  of  an 
awful  expectation  fell  on  the  world. 

Next,  darkness !  Darkness  dense,  instant,  impene 
trable.  No  sun,  no  moon,  no  star,  no  taper,  no  spark. 
The  darkness  did  not  come,  —  it  was.  The  sun  did 
not  fade,  —  the  moon  did  not  wane.  The  stars  did  not 
grow  dim  by  degrees.  The  fires  of  the  earth  did  not 
pale.  The  candles  did  not  flicker  —  all  lights,  on  the 
instant,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  exploded  and  went 
out.  No  noise,  no  light.  Silence  and  darkness  over 
all  the  earth  ! 

The  world  listened.  Nature  hid  her  face  and  waited. 
What  was  coming  ? 

A  noise,  a  sound  as  of  many  waters !  A  peal  as  of 
a  mammoth  bell  rung  by  mighty  and  invisible  hands 
in  an  invisible  belfry !  A  blast :  a  trumpet  note,  blown 
by  immeasurable  power ;  a  note  round,  full,  immense, 


SABBATH   AMONG  THE  MOUNTAINS.  257 

that  captured  the  universe  and  filled  it  so  that  its  very 
borders  rang !  The  last  trump  ! 

The  field  in  which  I  lay  shook.  A  thrill  as  of  awful 
terror  ran  through  the  sod.  The  turf  seemed  to  creep 
and  shrivel  with  fear.  The  two  graves  opened.  The 
two  men  rose,  and  each  standing  in  his  coffin  looked  at 
the  other,  the  same  —  great  God  !  —  the  very  same 
as  when  they  died  !  They  had  slept  a  thousand  years, 
ten  thousand,  but  all  the  years  had  not  changed  them 
a  whit,  for  the  same  hatred  glared  in  their  faces  as 
they  stood  in  the  resurrection  as  when  they  died,  curs 
ing  each  other  in  the  cabins  that  stood  by  the  gurgling 
stream.  Yea,  there  they  were,  unchanged  by  all  the 
years  that  had  come  and  gone  since  their  bodies  had 
been  buried  side  by  side,  in  that  little  clearing  in  the 
Canadian  woods,  ten  thousand  years  before  ! 

"  Do  those  wretches  know  what  an  eternity  there  is 
before  them  ?  "  I  said  to  myself,  as  I  gazed  in  horror  at 
the  spectacle.  "  I  will  go  and  plead  with  them,"  and 
I  was  on  the  point  of  starting  up  when  I  felt  a  shock 
—  a  terrible  shock  —  as  if  the  solid  earth  had  exploded, 
and  then  another  more  terrible  than  the  former.  I 
screamed,  my  eyes  sprang  open. 

"  Wake  up  !  wake  up  !  '  It  was  my  companion 
who  was  shaking  me. 

"  Wake  up ;  what  are  you  dreaming  about,  old  boy  ?  " 

Thank  God,  it  was  a  dream  !  Thank  God,  nothing 
but  a  dream.  Perhaps  the  old  pastor  was  wrong,  per 
haps  men  do  change,  —  perhaps. 


i 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


THE    GREAT    GLACIER. 

I  will  lift  up  mine  eyes  unto  the  hills. " 

.  WEEPING  around  the  point  of  a  name 
less  mountain,  we  glided  into  the  dim, 
narrow  vista  of  a  snow-shed,  five  hun 
dred  yards,  perhaps,  in  length.  Here 
and  there  its  gloom  was  crossed  with 
shafts  of  light  and  checkered  with 
gleaming  rays,  which  made  of  the  long  vista  a  kaleido 
scope  of  jet-black  blocks  bordered  by  bright,  many- 
colored  lines,  changeful  and  lively,  presenting  to  the 
gazer's  eye  a  lovely  picture  to  look  upon ;  while  far 
beyond,  the  aperture  stared  at  us  like  a  great  white, 
expressionless  eye,  at  which  we  rushed  with  rattle  and 
roar  and  burst  of  thunderous  sound  from  wheel  and 
truck,  hissing  brakes  and  belching  funnel,  but  which, 


THE  GREAT  GLACIER.  259 

unfrightened,  stared  steadily  at  us  without  shrinking 
as  we  came  hurtling  on.  In  a  moment  we  were  shot 
out  of  the  monstrous  tunnel,  framed  with  gigantic  tim 
bers,  strongly  braced  as  is  the  curvature  of  the  world, 
on  which  the  avalanche  falls  harmless,  and  over  whose 
roof,  angled  truly  to  the  mountain  slope  and  riveted 
into  its  side,  the  awful  landslide,  wide  and  long  with 
the  width  and  length  of  acres,  its  trees  all  standing  and 
its  huge  bowlders  undisturbed,  pours  its  vast  mass  into 
the  ravine  below,  leaving  this  magnificent  device  of 
man's  invention  unshaken  and  unstirred. 

Onward  we  whirled,  the  majestic  forest  trees  on 
either  side.  l?pon  our  left  a  mountain  slope,  wide, 
high  lifted,  an  immense  stretch  of  sylvan  surface  ;  on 
our  right  a  dark,  deep  ravine,  down  whose  black  bot 
tom  a  glacial  torrent  drew  its  foaming  line ;  when  sud 
denly  our  engine  curved  sharply  to  the  right,  and  lo,  a 
spectacle  of  spectacles  stood  full  before  our  wondering 
eyes. 

"  Heavens  !  "  exclaimed  the  Judge  excitedly,  "  was 
there  ever  such  a  sight  ?  " 

Those  who  have  traveled,  who  have  wandered  far 
and  seen  much,  will  tell  you  that  out  of  the  mass  of 
things,  places  and  faces  they  have  seen,  a  few  alone  re 
main  fixed  and  clearly  outlined  in  memory.  Many  are 
the  pictures  we  hang  on  memory's  walls,  but  with  the 
passage  of  time  most  fade  to  blackness.  Only  a  few 
hold  their  colors  fast,  and  fewer  yet  brighten  them  as 
the  years  go  on  :  here  an  ocean  scene,  a  storm,  a  drift 
ing  wreck  lightning-lighted,  or  scudding  like  the  ghost 
of  a  ship  through  the  tempestuous  moonlight;  or  it 


260 


DAYLIGHT  LAND. 


may  be  a  face,  —  a  single  face,  old  or  young,  happy  or 
sad,  living  or  dead, 
a  friend's,  a  foe's, 
a  stranger's;  a 
stretch  of  forest,  a 
mountain    view,   a 
torrent  bursting 
from  some   savage 
gorge  down  which 
Chaos    hurriedly 
trailed,  followed  by 
her  unformed  rem 
nants  when  driven 
from    the   face    of 
the    earth   by   the 
growing    order    of 
the  skies.     So  trav 
elers    tes 
tify,  and 

M 


thus  we  who  gazed,  gray-headed  wanderers  all  of  us, 
knew  it  would  be  with  this  spectacle  which  stood  in  start- 


THE  GREAT  GLACIER.  263 

ling  clearness  before  our  eyes,  and  which  had  risen  into 
view  on  the  instant  from  the  depths  of  the  savage  Sel- 
kirks.  It  was  a  picture  as  clearly  cut  as  some  old 
cameo  edged  by  that  antique  skill  that  now  is  dead ; 
as  pronounced  in  the  lines  of  its  drafting  as  strongly 
contrasting  colors  in  nature  might  make  it :  so  varied 
in  the  figures  introduced,  so  strange  and  even  startling 
in  the  grouping  of  its  related  parts,  that  upon  the  in 
stant  it  dominated  the  mind  and  boldly  challenged  for- 
getfulness. 

"  Never  did  I  see  such  a  picture,"  said  Mr.  Pepper  ell 
in  a  low  voice,  "  never,  not  even  on  the  Fraser  or  the 
Thompson  in  the  old  days  ! " 

And  this  is  the  picture  we  saw,  translated  from  its 
majesty  and  glories  down  to  the  paltry  measurement 
and  dull  neutrality  of  petty,  colorless  words  :  — 

A  little  plat  rescued  from  chaos  by  man's  love  of 
order  ;  a  level  space  of  scant  size,  made  by  ironing  out 
the  corrugation  of  the  hills ;  on  this  little  platform, 
or  plateau  of  level  space,  a  cottage,  unique  in  style, 
neither  house  nor  chalet,  but  fitting  harmoniously  to 
the  landscape ;  in  front,  a  space  graveled  and  platted 
for  flowers,  —  a  summer  garden  in  miniature.  In  the 
centre  of  it  a  fanciful  fountain  jetted  its  glacial  spray 
upward,  where  the  wind  caught  it,  and  blew  it  at  ran 
dom  through  the  bright  sunlight,  so  that  in  flying  and 
falling  it  filled  all  the  air  with  broken  pearls,  frag 
ments  of  silver,  and  sparklings  of  prismatic  fire.  Far 
below  this  scant  level  space,  with  its  graveled  walks, 
flashing  fountain,  and  widely  verandahed  miniature 
mansion,  dropped  a  gorge  through  which  a  glacial  tor- 


264  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

rent  whirled  its  white  line  of  hoarse  noise.  Sheer  up 
ward  lifted  the  opposite  mountain,  a  full  ten  thousand 
feet,  its  bold  summit  of  steel  gray  rock  well  named 
Eagle  Peak,  for  only  an  eagle's  wing  might  reach  it. 

Down  its  imposing  front  a  torrent  foamed  from  top 
to  base.  Slowly  through  the  long,  lofty  distance  our 
admiring  eyes  swept  their  gaze  until  they  rested  upon 
the  buttressed  battlements  of  Sir  Donald,  which,  pointed 
like  a  pyramid,  interrogates  the  mysteries  of  star  and 
sky,  the  golden  course  of  wheeling  orbs,  and  the  mean 
ing  of  that  blue  depth  and  distance  which  lie  level, 
serene,  and  still,  above  the  storms  which  vex  the  lower 
atmospheres. 

"  That  monstrous  shaft,"  said  the  Judge,  as  we  all 
stood  gazing  at  Sir  Donald,  "  is  a  solemn  interrogation 
of  what  is  above  and  beyond." 

"  Look  at  this,"  said  Mr.  Pepperell  calmly,  as  he 
faced  about. 

In  the  rear  of  the  chalet  a  magnificent  forest  growth 
swelled  loftily  upward,  symmetrical,  proportionate,  a 
lovely,  harmonious  whole,  —  a  sylvan  picture,  vast  of 
height,  framed  by  the  sky  in  massive  blue,  and  fretted 
along  its  edges  with  scuds  of  mist  and  changeful  drifts 
of  cloud.  Never  had  the  eye  of  one  of  us  wood  wan 
derers  seen  a  lovelier  exhibition  of  forest  growth ; 
abundant,  dense,  soft-toned,  untouched  by  fire,  un- 
scarred  by  violence  of  slide  or  avalanche ;  a  landscape 
scene  of  unmatched  perfection. 

Slowly  our  eyes  wandered  down  the  pass  and  clomb 
the  Hermit  Kange,  peak  by  peak,  stole  along  its  slopes 
of  ice,  an<J  crept  beneath  the  glaciers,  filling  every 


MT.  HERMIT,   ROGERS    PASS. 


THE  GREAT  GLACIER.  267 

gorge,  hanging  poised  ready  to  drop,  or  held,  jammed 
in  the  vast  amphitheatres  where  they  have  been  held 
beyond  the  count  of  years,  and  where  they  will  remain, 
unmoved,  unmelted,  until  time  is  ended  or  the  present 
order  of  creation  passes  away. 

So  we  stood  steadfastly  gazing  at  the  vast  vision,  en 
raptured,  when  an  exclamation  from  a  man  behind  us 
faced  us  around,  and  there,  to  the  north  and  east,  we 
saw  a  sight  which  may  not,  perhaps,  be  matched  in  its 
grandeur  and  surroundings  on  this  earth  of  ours.  A 
glacier,  vast,  lofty,  immense,  buttressed,  fissured,  crev 
iced,  —  a  section  of  the  Mississippi  tilted  up  obliquely 
and  frozen  solid ;  the  St.  Lawrence  pouring  bodily  over 
a  mountain  range  ten  thousand  feet  above  you  and 
turned  on  the  instant  into  ice,  stiffened  solid  at  its  mad 
dest  plunge  ;  a  creation  of  ten  thousand  years ;  a  monu 
ment  above  those  past,  dead  years,  which  all  the  rain 
and  shine  of  other  equal  years  to  come  will  not  efface ; 
standing  cold,  monstrous,  motionless,  silent,  sublime, 
within  a  distance  so  short  from  our  parlor  car  that  even 
the  weakest  woman  or  smallest  child  in  it  might,  by  an 
easy  stroll,  stand  under  its  ponderous  front.  Heavens  ! 
how  small,  how  feeble,  how  insignificant  seemed  the 
engine  of  our  heavy  train,  with  its  sobs,  and  pantings, 
and  puny  puffs  of  power,  beside  that  monstrous  crea 
tion  of  ages,  that  landscape  of  frozen  force,  that  over 
hanging  world  of  chained  energy  which,  should  Nature 
ever  loosen  the  chilled  links  which  chained  it  to  that 
mountain  pass,  would  sweep  our  engine,  train,  and 
yonder  house  away  like  chips;  ay,  crush,  grind  and 
pulverize  them  all  to  finest  dust,  so  fine  that,  were  it 


268  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

dry,  the  winds  might  lift  it  as  they  lift  ashes  and  blow 
it  through  the  air,  invisible  to  mortal  eye. 

"  Never  shall  it  be  said/'  exclaimed  the  Judge,  "  that 
I  came  to  such  an  environment  of  majesty  as  this  and 
passed  heedlessly  on.  Here  we  will  stop  a  day  and  a 
night,  and  see  the  sunset  splendor  and  the  sunrise  glory 
on  these  peaks,  and  the  moonlight  whiten  the  surface 
of  that  frozen  field.  There  is  not  ice  enough  in  Swit 
zerland  to  make  that  single  glacier  yonder.  Let  the 
train  move  on.  We  four  have  wandered  on  the  earth 
too  widely  and  seen  too  many  of  its  wonders  not  to 
recognize  the  extraordinary  and  do  homage  to  it." 

And  so  the  train  rolled  down  the  grade,  around  the 
swell  of  the  mountain  beyond,  and  left  us  four  gray- 
headed  boys  standing  above  the  glacial  torrent,  gazing 
and  wondering. 

That  afternoon  we  took  the  trail  —  an  easy  way, 
which  led  us  to  the  Glacier's  front.  Slowly  we  drew 
our  line  of  progress  toward  it.  The  fit  mood  was  on 
us  all.  We  were  alone,  we  four.  We  were  intelligent 
enough  to  appreciate  the  awful  phenomenon.  We  saw 
it  with  the  eyes  of  many  years.  We  could  measure  it 
by  European  comparison.  We  could  weigh  it  in  the 
scales  of  world-wide  knowledge.  Two  of  us  had 
footed  the  Alpine  passes.  One  had  seen  the  Hima 
layas.  Another  had  wintered  within  the  Arctic  Circle. 

Slowly  we  moved  forward.  A  few  rods  of  motion 
onward,  and  we  would  pause.  We  were  all  eyes,  all 
feeling.  We  felt  we  were  approaching  a  fragment  of 
eternity.  We  were  drawing  nigh  to,  and  gazing  at, 
a  bit  of  the  everlasting.  Before  us  was  the  work  of 


THE  GREAT  GLACIER.  269 

ages.  Here  the  centuries  had  stopped.  Between  these 
monstrous  mountains.  Time  had  come  to  a  full  halt, 
powerless  to  go  one  foot  farther.  Here  before  us, 
with  folded  wings,  white-faced,  hoary-headed,  his 
scythe  held  in  his  stiffened  hands,  we  saw  him  stand,  a 
statue  of  ice. 

"  Older  than  Rome,  older  than  Egypt,  older  than 
Man  !  "  murmured  the  Judge  solemnly,  as  he  gazed. 

In  front  of  the  Glacier  was  a  great  round  wall  of  sand, 
of  cobbles,  of  bowlders.  Its  pressure  drove  downward 
to  the  bed  rock  of  the  world,  and  ploughed  the  surface 
earth. 

"  This  plough  ploughs  slowly,  but  it  ploughs  deep," 
remarked  Colonel  Goffe,  as  he  ran  his  eye  along  the 
huge  ridge. 

"  Think  who  steadies  it !  "  said  the  Judge. 

The  sun  sank  from  sight  behind  the  western  ridge. 
The  gray  shaft  of  Sir  Donald  flushed,  reddened,  then 
blazed  as  with  fire. 

From  amid  the  dark  firs  above  us  Night  softly  shook 
her  raven  plumage,  and  feathered  us  with  gloom. 
Then  she  spread  her  sable  wings.  She  soared  upward, 
and  the  world  darkened.  Anon  she  sailed,  a  vast  for 
mation  of  blackness  above  the  peaks.  The  skies  saw 
her  coming  and  welcomed  her  with  every  window 
lighted.  The  Indian  myth  was  realized.  The  Kaven 
brooded  the  world. 

But  the  great  Glacier  amid  the  gloom  still  showed 
whitely.  From  between  the  pillars  of  darkness,  from 
the  cavernous  blackness  of  night,  it  looked  forth  like 
the  face  of  a  dead  man  from  the  mouth  of  a  grave. 


270  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

"  Older  than  Night,  and  hence  stronger  !  "  whispered 
the  Judge. 

Thus  we  four  sat  in  the  darkness  watching  and  pon 
dering,  while  through  the  gloom  and  the  stillness  the 
glacial  torrent  at  our  feet  tore  its  line  of  hoarse  noise. 

"  See  ! "  I  exclaimed.  "  The  Glacier  is  growing 
whiter.  Its  paleness  begins  to  brighten.  Look ! 
There  is  a  gleam  in  that  upper  crevice  !  And  see  —  see 
that  flash  of  white  !  " 

"  The  moon  !  The  moon  !  "  cried  the  Judge.  "  The 
moon  is  rising.  Now  we  shall  see  the  spectacle  of  a 
lifetime ! " 

Excuse  me,  reader,  I  cannot  write  it  down.  I  know 
the  limitation  of  letters.  Even  could  I  tint  them  with 
all  the  colors  of  the  palette,  it  were  in  vain.  Imagine 
our  position,  standing  in  that  gorge,  deep,  deep  down 
at  the  very  roots  of  those  monstrous  mountains,  within 
the  inclosure  of  their  awful  environment ;  the  stillness, 
which  the  roar  of  the  torrent  divided,  but  did  not  dis 
turb  ;  the  whole  world  black  with  the  blackness  of 
night  when  it  smothers  the  woods  out  of  sight  of  the 
eye ;  the  great  Glacier  in  front  of  us,  vast,  monstrous, 
formless,  as  it  lay  dimly  outlined  in  the  gloom  ;  then 
imagine  it  growing,  growing,  growing  upon  the  sight. 
See  it  brighten  and  widen  out  into  view. 

See  the  gleams  begin  to  run  over  it.  See  that  flash 
of  white  fire  strike  the  crest  and  run  crinkling  along 
the  lofty  ridge  until  it  connects  the  two  opposite  peaks 
with  a  line  of  living  light. 

See  the  crevices  gleam  and  glisten  brighter  and 
brighter.  Behold  the  sparkles  and  flashes  of  fire  start 


MOUNT   SIR    DONALD. 


THE   GREAT  GLACIER.  273 

up  here  and  there,  at  random,  flash,  shift  and  fade,  and 
then,  as  the  rounded  orb,  vast  of  size,  intense,  rose  ma 
jestically  above  the  summit  and  looked  calmly,  and,  as 


it    seemed,    admiringly 

down  upon  it,  behold, 

in    your    imagination, 

what    we    saw,  —  the 

monstrous     mountains 

darkly  forested  round 

about  us,  between  which,  wide  as  a  landscape,  lay  the 

great  Glacier,  bathed  in  soft  white  radiance  from  side 

to  side,  from  base  to  summit,  and  above  it  the  dome 

of  the  sky,  and  suspended  from  it  the  round  moon  ! 

"  Day  unto  day  uttereth  speech,  and  night  unto 
night  showeth  knowledge,"  said  the  Judge  reverently, 
and  we  turned  slowly  from  the  sublime  spectacle  before 
us,  and  started  to  pick  our  way  carefully  down  the 
trail. 

We  had  seen  the  Glacier  !     It  was  enough. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE  HERMIT  OF  FRASER  CANON. 

"  We  are  not  ourselves, 

When  nature,  being-  oppressed,  commands  the  mind 
To  suffer  with  the  body." 

E  who  attempts  to  describe  in  words 
this  majestic  exhibition  of  nature,  ad 
vertises  his  ignorance  of  the  limitation 
of  letters  and  his  lack  of  artistic  dis 
cernment.  Even  the  tongue  of  Peri 
cles,  with  its  perfect  command  of  the 
Grecian  vocabulary,  would  have  faltered  and  grown 
dumb  had  he  stood  where  we  stand,  and  attempted  to 
describe  what  we  see." 


THE  HERMIT  OF  FRASER  CANON.       275 

It  was  the  Judge  who  spoke,  as  we  stood  grouped  at 
a  point  midway  between  the  extremities  of  the  Great 
Canon. 

"  Nevertheless,  there  are  those  who  expect  me  to  do 
it,"  I  remarked,  "  and  will  hold  me  at  fault  if  I  fail." 

"  Never  you  mind  that,"  responded  the  Judge,  speak 
ing  with  emphatic  earnestness.  "  Be  true  to  your 
knowledge  of  language  and  your  own  sense  of  the  fit 
and  the  modest.  Here  is  a  work  of  God  whose  wild- 
ness  and  awful  sublimity  is  not  only  beyond  verbal 
description,  but  so  far  beyond  it  that  only  scribblers 
would  attempt  it.  Here  is  one  of  the  rare  exhibitions 
of  the  world.  Niagara  matches  it  in  nature.  The 
Halls  of  Karnac  and  the  Great  Pyramid  are  to  be 
classed  with  it  among  the  works  of  men.  I  have 
walked  through  the  one,  and  camped  a  week  at  the 
base  of  the  other.  This  exhibition  makes  me  hold  my 
breath.  If  the  world  would  learn  what  is  here,  let  them 
come  and  see  it.  How  can  you  describe  that  mad 
turmoil  of  water  ?  How  picture,  with  your  pen,  this 
awful  environment  of  mountains  ?  Can  you  portray 
this  terrible  gloom,  or  put  upon  your  pages  that  far-off 
gleam  of  ice  on  those  summits,  or  send  through  the 
leaves  of  your  book  the  hoarse  roar  of  yonder  whirl 
ing,  thundering  flood  ?  Let  your  artist  attempt  it  if 
he  must.  His  failure  will  demonstrate  the  powerless- 
ness  of  the  pen.  Victor  Hugo  himself  would  close  his 
note-book  were  he  here.  Lay  down  your  portfolio, 
and  we  will  sit  on  this  rock,  and  see  the  day  shrink  out 
of  this  fearful  gorge,  and  the  night  push  her  black 
columns  into  it." 


276  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

We  four  were  together.     We  had  left  the  car  at 


Yale,  and  followed 
the  old  govern 
ment  road  up  the 
canon.  The  day 
was  warm,  and  we 
had  decided  to 
camp  one  night 
beside  the  terrible 
river  which  flows 
wide  and  deep, 
swift  and  strong, 
with  rush  and  hiss 
and  roar  as  of 
thunder,  between 
the  cliffs  which 
lift  their  ridges  to 
the  stars. 

"Had    the    old 
Greeks     known 
this,"     said    the 
Judge,    senten- 
tiously,  as  we  sat  on  the  ledge,  gazing  at  the  mad 


EAGLE    PEAK. 


THE  HERMIT  OF  FRASER  CANON.      279 

river,  — "  they  would  have  made  it  the  entrance  to 
Hades.  Here  is  such  a  Styx  and  Acheron  as  they 
never  dreamed  of." 

"  Charon  could  never  have  ferried  a  stream  like 
that/'  I  said,  pointing  to  the  whirling  water  below. 

"  They  would  have  made  him  go  with  the  current," 
responded  the  Judge.  "  Down  with  the  current  that 
old  freighter  of  souls  would  have  gone,  —  down  be 
tween  those  ledges  and  through  those  ghastly  heaps  of 
foam,  out  of  sight,  with  his  pale  passengers,  forever 
and  ever." 

Nothing  beyond  this  for  a  long  time  was  said.  We 
sat  in  silence,  —  we  four,  —  all  eyes,  all  ears,  all  feel 
ing.  We  heard  the  roar  of  the  river  rise  mightily  and 
hoarsely  up  between  the  cliffs.  It  was  that  of  a  lion 
sounding  in  the  solitude  of  the  desert  or  amid  the 
ruins  of  a  tenantless  city  half  buried  in  desert  sand. 
We  saw  the  light  shrink  and  fade  from  the  gorge  as 
that  of  life  shrinks  and  fades  from  the  glassing  eyes  of 
the  dying.  We  saw  the  day,  pallid  with  fear,  climb 
the  cliffs,  as  if  stricken  with  terror  at  the  growing 
gloom  below,  frantic  to  reach  their  tops  and  rush  with 
headlong  haste  after  the  declining  sun.  We  watched 
the  gloom  spread  over  the  river,  and  the  white  of  its 
rage  flash  fitfully  through  it  as  it  deepened.  We  saw 
the  darkness  gather  and  grow  dense  along  the  great 
forested  slopes  above,  and  sway  out,  like  black  fog, 
from  either  side  of  the  chasm,  until  it  met  the  middle 
air.  And  then  through  the  smother  of  gloom  we  saw 
the  heavens  make  revelation  of  glorious  globes,  of 
flashing  orbs  and  shining  worlds,  —  proof  that  above 


280  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

and  beyond  this  awful  gorge,  this  chasm  of  Chaos, 
this  cave  of  Night,  the  universe  of  law  and  light  still 
held  its  brilliant  course  and  kept  its  benignant  move 
ments  wheeling  steadily  on. 

"  I  trust,"  said  Mr.  Pepperell,  as  he  arose  from  the 
rock,  "  that  I  am  not  unmindful  of  these  august  sur 
roundings,  and  I  shrink  from  rudely  disturbing  your 
reflections,  but  I  confess  that  I  am  as  hungry  as  a 
bear,  and  if  Colonel  Goffe  will  help  me  find  some 
cones  I  will  start  a  fire,  and  we  will  see  what  we  have 
in  the  hamper  for  supper." 

What  a  repast  we  four  old  campers  had  that  night ! 
Our  fire  was  kindled  on  a  wide,  flat  ledge,  which  pro 
jected  slightly  over  the  river.  Above  us,  two  giant 
firs  rose  loftily.  Below  us,  the  river  seethed  and 
flashed.  Across  the  whirling  current  our  campfire 
built  its  shifting,  tremulous  shaft  of  red  blood  color. 

We  broiled  a  ten-pound  salmon  which  an  Indian 
had  speared  for  us,  as  we  strolled  up  the  road  that 
afternoon.  Our  provisions  were  ample,  and  we  feasted 
our  hunger  full.  And  when  the  meal  was  made  we 
sat  and  fed  the  fire  with  fresh  cones  and  sticks,  and 
talked,  —  talked  gravely,  as  men  of  sense  so  circum 
stanced  might. 

"  I  met  with  a  strange  experience  here  a  year  ago," 
said  Mr.  Pepperell,  suddenly,  "  and  one  of  my  motives 
for  taking  this  journey  was  to  visit  this  canon  and  this 
very  spot  where  we  are.  As  strange  an  experience  as 
ever  befell  a  man,"  he  added  musingly. 

"  Tell  us  of  it,"  cried  the  Judge,  earnestly  ;  "  tell  us 
your  tale  of  the  canon.  We  did  not  visit  this  awful 


THE  HERMIT  OF  FRASER  CANON      281 

gorge  to  sleep,  but  to  see,  listen,  and  feel ;  and  a 
strange  tale  told  at  midnight,  amid  these  surroundings, 
would  be  most  apropos  indeed." 

"  It  is  not  so  much  a  story  as  an  experience,"  replied 
Mr.  Pepperell,  "  strange  and  wild  enough  to  suit  this 
spot  and  hour,  and  which  you  can  all  share  with  me  if 
you  choose.  It  will  be  an  encore  to  me,  but  a  novelty 
to  you." 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  "  interrogated  the  Judge,  in 
a  surprised  tone.  "  I  don't  understand  you,  sir." 

In  place  of  direct  reply,  Mr.  Pepperell  said  :  — 

"  Do  you  know,  Colonel  Goffe,  that  you  are  sitting 
on  as  strange  a  tablet  as  the  hand  of  man  ever  traced 
before  he  died,  to  trouble  the  world  after  he  died  ?  " 

"  Jupiter  Crickets  !  "  cried  the  Colonel,  as  he  jumped 
to  his  feet,  "  what  do  you  mean,  Mr.  Pepperell  ?  " 

66 1  will  show  you  what  I  mean,"  he  replied.  "  And 
I  will  show  you  what  I  found  here  a  year  ago.  Yes, 
we  will  go  through  the  same  experience  together  that 
I  went  through  alone,  and  you  shall  tell  me  what  you 
think  of  it ;  whether  he  was  mad,  and  how  he  died, 
and  where  he  lies  buried  ?  " 

"  Of  whom  are  you  talking,"  cried  the  Judge,  ex 
citedly,  for  the  suddenness  with  which  Colonel  Goffe 
had  risen  and  Mr.  Pepperell' s  mysterious  words  had 
excited  all  of  us.  "  Man  alive  !  of  whom  are  you  talk- 
ing?" 

"  Of  the  Hermit  of  Fraser  Canon"  responded  Mr. 
Pepperell ;  "  that  is  what  I  call  him,  because  that  is 
what  he  calls  himself.  Look  here,"  and  he  began  to 
brush  the  leaves  and  moss  from  the  stone  upon  which 


282 


DAYLIGHT    LAND. 


Colonel  Goffe  had  been  sitting,  "  what  do  you  make  of 
that?  You  are  a  trailer/'  and  he  looked  up  at  me. 
"  Can  you  translate  that  sign  ?  "  And  behold,  as  we 
looked,  we  saw  chiseled  into  the  ledge  the  following 
symbols  and  figures. 


"  Easily  enough,"  I  responded,  as  my  eye  caught 
the  tracing  clearly  in  the  light  of  a  torch  I  held  over 
it.  "  It  means,  go  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  a 
straight  line  from  this  spot  towards  yonder  cliff.  Then 
two  hundred  feet  at  nearly  right  angles  to  the  left ; 
then  eighty  feet  obliquely,  and  you  will  come  to  a 
cabin.  The  curved  lines  are  only  intended  to  deceive 
and  bewilder.  He  converted  his  straight  lines  into  a 
labyrinth  to  deceive." 

"  Well  done,"  exclaimed  Mr.  Pepperell,  "  you  have 
read  at  sight  what  it  took  me  a  week  to  decipher.  By 


THE  HERMIT  OF  ERASER  CANON.      283 

chance  I  built  my  fire  here,  and  in  the  light  of  it  I  saw 
that  rude  tracing  in  the  ledge.  It  puzzled  me.  It 
tormented  me.  It  threw  me  into  a  fever  of  curiosity. 
I  studied  it  for  days  and  nights,  and  at  last  I  got  the 
cue.  Gentlemen,  we  will  now  do  what  I  did  one  night, 
last  year.  I  want  you  to  see  this  6  cabin  '  and  what 
is  in  it.  Will  you  come  ?  " 

"  Certainly,"  I  answered.  «  But,  Mr.  Pepperell,"  I 
continued,  a  year  brings  avalanches  in  this  country, 
and  I  warrant  your  '  cabin  '  won't  look  as  when  you 
saw  it." 

"  The  cabin  which  that  '  C  '  stands  for  was  built  by 
a  Builder  whose  buildings  never  fall.  Judge,  take  those 
two  candles.  Colonel  Goffe,  you  carry  the  lantern. 
Mr.  Murray,  you  and  I  will  take  a  torch.  Here,  let  me 
go  ahead.  I  have  measured  this  line  before."  And 
with  this  he  started  carefully  on,  we  following. 

Slowly,  with  the  aid  of  our  lighted  torches,  we  worked 
our  way  toward  the  cliff  for  the  one  hundred  and  fifty 
allotted  feet.  Then  Mr.  Pepperell  ran  the  line  two 
hundred  feet  to  the  left.  His  memory  had  evidently 
retained  a  vivid  remembrance  of  the  trail,  for  he 
hesitated  at  no  point  of  it.  At  the  end  of  the  two 
hundred  feet  he  turned  obliquely  to  the  left,  and  the 
eighty  feet  brought  us  to  the  very  front  of  the  gigantic 
cliff. 

"  Where  is  your  cabin  ?  "  I  cried  exultantly,  not 
doubting  but  that  a  snow  slide  had  swept  it  into  the 
Fraser.  "  Where  is  the  cabin  that  the  f  C  '  stands 
for  on  the  diagram,  Mr.  Pepperell?  " 

"  Here  it  is,"   he  responded  promptly.     "  Look  !  " 


284:  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

and  he  lifted  his  torch  to  the  face  of  the  cliff  and,  lo ! 
there,  painted  on  the  front  of  the  rock  was  a  letter 
"  C  "  ! 

An  exclamation  escaped  us  as  we  crowded  close  up 
to  the  ledge  to  inspect  it. 

It  was  a  monstrous  letter,  at  least  three  feet  in  its 
perpendicular  length  and  fully  two  feet  across.  It 
was  painted  in  some  gray  mixture  which  nearly  matched 
the  color  of  the  rock,  and  was  not  discernable  save  upon 
close  inspection.  It  was  enlarged  at  the  back  of  it, 
and  united  at  the  curved  extremities  so  that  it  rudely 
resembled  the  shell  of  a  clam  even  as  our  ^artist  has 
drawn  it. 

"  What  in  the  world  does  this  mean,  sir  ?  "  I  ex 
claimed,  looking  at  Mr.  Pepperell. 

His  response  to  this  interrogation  was  singularly  di 
rect  and  instructive.  He  took  a  chisel-shaped  instru 
ment  from  one  pocket,  and  a  hammer  from  another, 
and  placing  the  edge  of  the  sharp  steel  at  the  central 
point  of  the  letter,  where  the  lines  connected  the  ex 
tremities,  struck  it  sharply  with  the  hammer,  and  a  sec 
tion  of  the  rock  coincident  with  the  painted  form  of 
the  letter  stirred,  and  we  saw  that  it  was  only  a  cun 
ningly  devised  door  fitted  to  an  aperture  in  the  ledge. 

"  Great  heavens  !  "  I  cried,  "  the  C  of  the  diagram 
by  the  river  does  not  mean  cabin  at  all,  but  a  cave  !  " 

"  Precisely,"  returned  Mr.  Pepperell  complacently. 
"  It  took  me  a  long  time,  but  I  guessed  the  trick  at 
last.  Gentlemen,  will  you  enter  the  hermit's  cave  ?  " 
And  he  stepped  through  the  strange  door  while  we 
followed. 


THE  HERMIT  OF  FRASER  CANON. 


285 


The  sensation  we  experienced  as  we  passed  through 
that  strangely-contrived  entrance  and  stood  in  the  mys 
terious  apartment  can  better  be  imagined  than  de 
scribed.  We  were  too  astonished  at  what  we  saw  to 


say  a  word.  We  stood  and  gazed  in  silent  amazement 
at  what  we  beheld  revealed  by  the  light  of  lantern, 
candle,  and  torch. 

The  cave  was  of  large  size,  larger  than  an  ordinary 
chamber.     In  the  centre  stood   a  table  strongly  con- 


286  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

structed,  the  legs  of  which  were  grotesquely  carved. 
Skill,  patience,  and  artistic  cleverness  had  wrought  out 
its  strange  and  ludicrous  designs.  On  the  smooth  sur 
face  of  it  a  clown's  head  was  curiously  traced,  the 
face  of  which  was  indescribably  humorous.  It  was 
Mirth's  own  countenance  in  the  act  of  laughing.  The 
wall  of  one  side  was  literally  covered  with  portraits  of 
men,  animals,  and  strange  pictures  born  of  mad  con 
ceit.  Here  a  death's  head  grinned  at  us.  Below  it 
a  culprit  was  hanging  from  the  gallows-bar,  the  face 
brutal,  contorted,  and  the  dangling  body  horribly 
flexed,  —  a  dreadful  bit  of  realistic  work  to  haunt  the 
memory  and  terrify  sleep.  In  juxtaposition  to  it  was  a 
foundering  ship,  in  the  act  of  going  down,  the  stern 
already  under  water,  the  prow  lifted,  and  men  clinging 
to  the  rigging. 

"  This  is  horrible  !  "  said  the  Judge  as  he  stood  gaz 
ing.  "  The  man  was  mad." 

"  Perhaps,"  answered  Mr.  Pepperell.  "  But  look  on 
this  side.  Hold  up  your  lights,  all  of  you.  I  want 
you  to  get  the  full  effect." 

We  turned  with  hands  uplifted,  holding  the  lights 
high. 

A  canvas.  And  on  the  canvas  the  portrait  of  a 
woman.  A  woman  in  the  full  bloom  of  her  loveliness. 
A  brunette.  The  "  Queen  of  the  Creoles  "  she  might 
have  been  when  living,  so  rich,  so  ripe,  so  perfect  was 
she.  A  vision  of  female  possibility  such  as  floats  in 
the  air  before  the  eyes  of  the  opium  eater,  as  he  lies 
half  asleep  in  his  sensuous  heaven.  Her  head  was 
small,  shapely,  and  crowned  with  braids  of  glossy  black- 


THE  HERMIT  OF  FRASER  CANON.  287 

ness.  Her  eyes  were  large,  long,  softly  black,  like  the 
star-lighted  dusk  of  a  tropical  night.  Her  lips  were 
full,  curved,  slightly  parted.  The  rounded  neck  and 
shoulders  were  modestly  revealed,  and  the  bare,  per 
fectly  modeled  arms  were  lifted  as  to  a  loved  one  com 
ing  to  their  embrace.  The  face  was  fuU  of  fire,  of  pas 
sion,  of  expectancy.  But,  oh,  horrible,  horrible  sight ! 
A  dagger  was  driven  to  its  hilt  in  her  breast ! 

"  My  God  !  "  exclaimed  the  Judge.  "  This  is  too 
dreadful !  "  and  he  turned  his  back  to  the  picture  shud- 
deringly. 

"  What  do  you  make  of  it  ?  "  I  asked,  as  I  turned 
away  from  the  same  impulse.  "  Judge,  what  do  you 
make  of  it  ?  " 

"  Make  of  it  ? "  he  responded.  "It  is  perfectly 
clear  that  that  lovely  woman  was  his  wife,  his  love,  or 
his  mistress,  and  she  was  murdered  in  the  very  act  of 
embracing  him,  and  his  awful  punishment  or  fate  drove 
him  mad.  This  cave  of  his  is  an  artistic  bedlam,  a 
mad  painter's  hell." 

"  I  think,"  said  Colonel  Goffe,  "  he  murdered  her 
himself.  He  caught  her  in  the  act  of  unfaithfulness, 
and  his  hand  drove  that  dagger  home.  The  remem 
brance  of  it  made  him  mad." 

"  Gentlemen,"  said  Mr.  Pepperell,  "  seat  yourselves 
around  this  table.  I  wish  to  show  you  something.  I 
spent  a  night  in  this  cave,  and  I  discovered  some  of  its 
secrets." 

"  Why  did  you  not  stay  and  find  them  all  out  ?  " 
I  asked.  "  You  certainly  had  made  a  good  start." 

"  Simply  because  I  was  afraid  to  stay  longer  —  afraid 


288  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

I  should  go  mad  myself  if  I  did,"  he  answered.   "  Look 


at  this,"  and  press 
ing  his  finger  on 
the  table,  the 
clown's  head  flew 
up  and  underneath 
it  was  a  recess  and 
in  the  recess  was 
a  package  of  man 
uscript. 

«  Read  this,"  he 
said,  and  drawing 
out  a  leaf  of  the  manuscript,  he  handed  it  to  me. 

It   was   a   beautiful   bit   of  artistic   embellishment. 


THE  HERMIT  OF  ERASER  CANON.      289 

The  text  was  delicately  printed.  Each  capital  letter 
was  ornamented  with  some  lovely  or  quaint  device, 
while  around  the  sheet  was  a  border  of  vines  and 
flowers  beautifully  executed.  It  was  a  metrical  com 
position.  Here  it  is  :  — 

FORGOTTEN. 

I  passed  the  gates  of  Death,  and  in  the  light 

I  looked  to  see  those  whom  I  thought  to  meet. 

But  none  were  there.     I  knew  no  Angel  face. 

They  who  had  gone  before,  yea  even  those 

Who  with  love's  dread  of  parting  from  the  loved 

Were  torn  from  out   my  arms,  had    found  new    loves, 

And  now  were  fixed  forever  in  new  lives. 

They  had  forgotten  me.     And  there  I  stood 

At  Heaven's  gate,  and  saw  that  I  must  take 

The  old  search  up  to  find  some  faithful  one 

To  serve  and  love  me  as  I  had  been  loved. 

I  could  not  do  it.     Nay,  I  was  too  faint, 

Too  tired,  from  the  old  seeking,  out  of  which 

I  had  just  come.     I  turned,  and  from  the  gate 

Called  Beautiful  I  downward  went  unto 

Those  other  gates,  within  which  lies  a  land 

All  cold  and  dim,  to  which  those  go  at  wish 

Who  have  lost  all,  and  find  —  forgetfulness. 

Into  this  land,  cold,  dim,  and  dark,  I  went, 

That  being  thus  forgot  I  might  forget. 

"  That 's  a  strange  thing/'  said  the  Judge. 

"  Here 's  another,"  remarked  Mr.  Pepperell,  and  he 
handed  me  the  second  sheet.  "  Read  that."  I  did  as 
requested,  and  read  :  — 


290  DAYLIGHT  LAND, 

A  VISIT. 

Beyond  the  glorious  gates  I  met  a  soul 

That  on  the  earth  had  been  betrothed  to  me. 

She  loved  me  with  the  love  of  time  and  sense, 

The  love  which  women  give  to  mortal  men, 

And  out  of  which  come  births,  and  later,  graves. 

In  joy  I  ran  to  her  with  arms  outstretched  — 

Outstretched  to  fold  her  in  my  fond  embrace, 

And  with  warm  lips  press  kisses  on  her  mouth 

As  I  had  done  in  the  dear  days  below. 

But  she  with  startled  eyes  stared  full  at  me, 

And  speechless  stood,  as  if  struck  dumb  with  fright 

At  sight  so  strange  she  knew  not  what  it  meant. 

I  spoke  her  name.     That  name  which  was  to  me 
As  sweet  as  cry  of  new-born  babe  to  her 
Who  in  her  pain  hears  that  sure  sign  of  life, 
And  panting  feels  the  joy  of  motherhood. 
But  she  stood  coldly  still,  nor  gave  a  sign 
That  she  remembered  either  name  or  me. 
A  new  name  had  been  given  her  above. 
In  death  she  lost  one  life,  another  found, 
And  what  she  found  was  not  as  what  she  lost. 
She  knew  not  me  nor  any  thing  that  was. 
And  so  I  turned  and  gladly  journeyed  down 
To  earth  and  human  life  and  its  warm  loves. 

"  This  is  uncanny  business,  this  reading  a  dead 
man's  private  papers  without  legal  permission,"  re 
marked  the  Judge,  after  we  had  sat  in  silence  a  mo 
ment.  "  I  feel  as  if  I  were  one  of  a  party  engaged  in 
robbing  a  grave." 


THE  HERMIT  OF  FRASER  CANON.       291 

"  Here  it  is  !  here  it  is !  "  suddenly  exclaimed  Mr. 
Pepperell,  as  he  lifted  a  small  package  neatly  folded 
from  the  bottom  of  the  recess.  "  Read  this,  Mr.  Mur 
ray,  and  then  I  will  show  you  something  that  will 
startle  you/'  and  he  passed  a  portion  of  the  package 
over  to  me. 

I  took  it  from  his  hand,  and,  smoothing  it  out  care 
fully  on  the  table,  proceeded  to  read  the  following 
strange  communication. 

THE  LAST  WILL  AND  TESTAMENT 

OF 

ONE   WHOSE   NAME   IS   HIDDEN,  WHO   ALONE    KNOWS 
HIMSELF,  AND  WHO  IS  KNOWN  ONLY 

UNTO    GOD 

AS 

THE  HERMIT  OF  FRASER  CANON. 

/  AM  MAD. 

"  The  proof  of  it  is  on  these  walls.  What  drove  me 
mad  is  also  on  these  walls.  I  killed  her.  Guilt  is  on 
us  both.  Her  portrait.  Love.  Conscience.  Here 
have  I  lived  eighteen  hundred  years  with  her  in  tor 
ment.  The  ecstasies  of  heaven  and  the  agonies  of  hell 
have  been  mine.  Ha !  ha  !  ha  !  ha  ! 

"  Yes.  I  am  mad,  but  I  am  cunning.  My  mind 
never  stops.  It  spins  like  a  buzz-wheel.  I  have  more 
than  mortal  power.  I  can  live  without  food.  I  have 
clairvoyant  sight.  I  can  see  the  bottom  of  the  Fraser. 
It  is  solid  gold.  I  can  hear  through  a  mountain. 

"  I  leave  my  body  and  visit  worlds.  I  come  back  and 
enter  it  again.  I  can  become  incorporeal  at  will.  I 


292  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

am  an  unit  of  pure  consciousness,  a  receptive  essence, 
an  atom  of  universal  apprehension.     Amen. 

66  Let  him  who  would  know  a  mystery  read.  Let  him 
who  would  solve  it  obey.  Let  him  who  dare,  put  his 
ear  to  the  breast  of  the  woman  and  listen." 

"  Judge  Doe/'  said  Mr.  Pepperell,  "  go  to  the  can 
vas.  Put  your  ear  to  it  and  listen.  What  do  you 
hear?" 

"  Water,"  answered  the  Judge  in  astonishment. 
"  The  sound  of  running  water  as  it  plunges  over  a  dis 
tant  fall  and  pours  softly  down  among  stones,"  and  he 
returned  to  his  seat  on  the  bench. 

I  read  on. 

66  Have  you  listened  ?  Has  the  heart  of  the  moun 
tain  told  you  its  secret  ?  Have  you  heard  the  river 
that  pours  from  under  the  Glacier  ?  Do  you  know 
that  its  sands  are  pure  gold ;  that  all  the  gold  in  the 
Fraser  comes  down  that  stream  ?  I  have  seen.  I  have 
digged  my  grave  on  its  bank.  I  shall  sleep,  when  I 
die,  in  a  chamber  of  gold.  He  who  finds  me  might 
purchase  the  world.  He  will  have  all  that  man  craves 
but  one  thing.  He  will  not  have  love.  Hue  !  hue  ! 

"  ( He  is  mad,'  "  you  who  read  say.  So  I  am.  I  know 
it.  But  I  am  cunning.  The  hidden  I  found,  and  what 
I  found  I  have  hidden.  I  mock  you.  I  laugh  from 
where  I  am  hidden.  My  eyes  are  on  you.  I  am  near, 
a  foot  away,  a  yard  distant,  a  span  off.  Why  don't 
you  find  me  ?  I  am  grinning  at  you  at  this  moment. 
Ho  !  ho  !  " 


THE  HERMIT  OF  ERASER  CANON.       293 

"  This  is  the  raving  of  madness,"  I  exclaimed.  "  I 
will  read  no  more  of  the  trash,"  and  I  threw  the  sheet 
on  the  table. 

"  Read  to  the  end,"  cried  Mr.  Pepperell.  "  Read 
to  the  end  of  it,  then  I  will  show  you  something." 
Thus  urged  I  read  on. 

"Are  you  wise?  Are  you  brave?  Are  you  cun 
ning?  Can  you  read  a  riddle  that  is  plain?  Then 
read  the  riddle  that  I  write  on  the  page  that  comes 
next." 

"Here  it  is,"  cried  Mr.  Pepperell.  "Here  is  the 
page  that  comes  next,  and  on  it  the  madman's  riddle. 
Who  can  read  it?  " 

A  white  sheet  of  paper,  blankly  white,  that  was  all ! 

"  What  can  you  make  of  it  ?  "  It  was  Mr.  Pep 
perell  that  put  the  question. 

"Make  of  it?  Nothing,"  I  answered.  "The  man 
was  mad." 

"  Wait  a  moment,"  he  said.  "  Now  look  !  "  and  lift 
ing  the  blank  sheet  he  held  one  of  the  candles  under 
it  a  moment,  and  out  of  the  white  blankness  started 
this  sentence  in  letters  red  as  blood. 

"  He  who  calls  these  letters  forth  calls  me  from 
my  grave  !  I  am  here  with  you  !  " 

And  he  dropped  the  sheet,  across  whose  white  sur 
face  stretched  the  red  lines,  upon  the  table. 

We  were  on  our  feet  like  a  flash  —  we  three  who 
had  been  sitting  —  on  our  feet,  staring  at  the  red  let 
ters,  and  at  Mr.  Pepperell,  and  at  each  other. 


294:  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

"  Gentlemen,"  he  said,  "  I  got  thus  far  a  year  ago 
and  stopped.  I  was  alone,  remember,  and  I  went  out 
of  this  cave  like  a  scared  boy.  But  I  am  not  alone  to 
night,  and  I  stay  it  through,  whether  living  or  dead 
come.  Wait !  " 

Was  it  a  sound?  Yes.  It  was  a  sound.  The 
sound  of  one  moving.  Or  was  it  the  wind  outside  ? 
Which?  We  held  our  breaths,  listening.  My  heart 
sounded,  as  it  beat  in  my  breast,  like  a  bell. 

"  The  canvas  !  the  canvas  I  The  woman  is  mov 
ing  from  the  wall"  whispered  the  Judge  hoarsely, 
and  his  face  whitened  to  the  color  of  chalk. 

"  This  is  nonsense,"  I  said,  pulling  myself  together 
stoutly,  but  my  veins  shriveled  horribly,  and  the  roots 
of  my  hair  prickled  in  my  scalp.  "  This  is  nonsense. 
It  was  the  wind  that  did  it,"  and  I  took  a  quick  step 
forward  and  plucked  the  canvas  with  a  jerk  from  the 
wall. 

"  My  God  !  "  It  was  the  Judge's  voice,  and  I  heard 
him  drop  heavily  on  to  the  bench. 

Back  of  the  canvas  stood  a  man  !  The  madman 
himself  !  He  was  grinning  insanely  at  us.  And  then, 
with  a  yell,  he  jumped  full  at  me. 

The  table  was  overturned  and  every  light  extin 
guished. 

We  were  not  cowards,  nor  were  we  proof  against 
such  a  shock.  We  acted,  I  presume,  as  any  four  men 
would  naturally  act  whose  senses  had  been  thus  sud 
denly  and  frightfully  assaulted.  We  probably  all 
yelled  —  I  don't  know  —  I  know  I  did,  as  I  jumped 
backward. 


THE  HERMIT  OF  FRASER  CANON.  295 

No  man  living  could  have  stood  unmoved  such  a 
revelation  as  the  fall  of  that  canvas  made.  The  first 
thought  that  came  to  me,  in  the  recoil  of  feeling  and 
resultant  return  of  sense,  was  for  light.  I  felt  for  my 
matches  and  struck  one  mechanically.  Mr.  Pepperell 
kindled  a  fusee  at  the  same  instant.  We  lighted  the 
candles,  then  the  lantern,  and  for  a  moment  stood  look 
ing  at  each  other. 

"  See !  "  said  Mr.  Pepperell,  as  he  pointed  at  the 
hole  in  the  wall  where  the  canvas  had  hung.  It  was 
an  aperture  in  the  side  of  the  cavern ;  a  large,  oblong 
crevice  in  the  cliff ;  the  entrance  to  an  interior  passage 
which  led  deeper  into  the  mountain. 

"  The  riddle  is  solved  any  way,  Mr.  Pepperell/'  I 
said.  "  It  was  no  ghost,  but  a  man.  He  slipped  as  he 
jumped  at  me  and  struck  the  floor  like  a  good  solid 
human  being.  See.  There  is  blood  on  the  leg  of  the 
table.  He  hit  it  head  on.  The  Hermit  of  Eraser 
Canon  is  not  dead.  He  is  some  escaped  maniac. 
There  is  neither  truth  nor  reason  in  his  words  or  acts. 
That  portrait  is  a  lie.  I  don't  believe  he  ever  killed  a 
woman  or  knew  one  that  was  killed.  It  is  all  a  mad 
fancy  of  his,  an  insane  delusion.  What  do  you  say, 
Colonel  Goffe  ?  " 

"I  —  I  don't  believe  he  ever  saw  a  woman  in  his 
life,"  said  the  Man  from  New  Hampshire,  dryly. 

Strange  that  a  single  sentence  neither  wise  nor  very 
witty  could  affect  us  so  happily,  but  that  light  remark 
of  the  Colonel  acted  as  a  sedative  to  our  excited  nerves. 
It  brought  us  to  our  senses  and  normal  condition. 
We  were  all  ourselves  again. 


296  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

"  Come/'  said  the  Judge.  "  Take  the  papers,  Mr. 
Murray,  and  let  us  get  out  of  this.  Now  that  we 
know  what  this  hole  in  the  mountain  is,  I  feel  as  if  I 
were  in  the  cell  of  some  lunatic  asylum.  I  will  roll  up 
the  canvas  and  bring  it  along.  It  may  help  us  dis 
cover  who  he  is,  or  where  his  friends  are.  We  must 
find  the  poor  fellow  if  we  rally  the  country  and  hunt 
him  a  month.  It  is  plainly  a  case  of  insanity.  He  is 
a  scholar  and  an  artist,  but  overwork  or  some  accident 
has  driven  him  mad.  It  is  a  pity  that  the  blow  he  re 
ceived  when  he  fell  did  n't  stun  him.  It  would  have 
saved  us  much  searching." 

We  did  as  the  Judge  suggested,  and  left  the  cave 
much  relieved  in  our  feelings  and  well  content  with  the 
outcome  of  our  strange  adventure.  But  we  had  not 
come  to  the  end  of  it.  It  was  to  be  a  night  of  sur 
prises  in  fact,  and  the  biggest  one  yet  awaited  us.  For, 
as  we  drew  near  the  flat  ledge  by  the  river,  our  camp- 
fire  was  burning  brightly  and  a  man  was  sitting  by  it 
bathing  his  face  in  some  water. 

It  was  the  madman  of  the  cave  ! 

"  Gentlemen,"  he  said,  addressing  us  as  we  ap 
proached,  "  I  am  an  artist.  I  was  sketching  the  Canon 
by  moonlight,  and  slipping,  fell  from  a  ledge.  I  got 
here  with  great  difficulty.  I  do  not  remember  how, 
for  I  struck  my  head  against  a  sharp  rock  as  I  fell,  and 
was  partially  stunned.  I  saw  your  camp-fire  and 
crawled  to  it,  and  have  taken  the  liberty  of  using  one 
of  your  napkins  to  free  my  face  from  blood."  This 
was  spoken  in  a  feeble  voice,  but  accurately  and  ration 
ally,  and  we  instantly  realized  that  the  blow  he  had 


THE   HERMIT   OF  ERASER   CANON.  297 

received  on  his  head  as  he  jumped  from  the  wall  in 
the  cave  had  restored  him  the  use  of  his  faculties,  but 
left  the  time  between  his  accident  and  his  recovery  a 
blank. 

"  I  am  something  of  a  surgeon/'  I  said  pleasantly, 
"  and  with  your  permission  I  will  assist  you  to  dress 
your  wound/'  and  I  stepped  to  his  side. 

"  You  are  very  kind/'  he  returned  feebly,  "  very  kind. 
I  am  grateful  to  God  that  the  accident  happened  where 
it  did,  so  near  your  camp,  for  I  am  feeling  very  weak, 
and  I  could  not  have  crawled  far.  It  was  very  foolish 
of  me  to  spend  a  night  alone  in  this  Gorge,  but  its  sub 
limities  attracted  me  irresistibly.  I  feel  it  is  destined 
to  be  noted  the  world  over  and  I  longed  to  be  the  first 
to  put  on  canvas  a  moonlight  and  sunrise  view  of  it. 
If  this  blow  should  prove  serious,"  he  continued  more 
feebly,  looking  up  into  my  face  as  I  was  carefully  re 
moving  the  hair  from  the  edges  of  the  gash,  "  my 
studio  is  in  New  Orleans.  I  have  no  relatives  in  this 
country  but  my  betrothed,"  and  here  a  slight  flush  came 
to  his  face.  "  My  betrothed  is  a  lady  of  that  city,  a 
Miss  De  Fontaine  "  — 

"  He  has  fainted,"  I  said  quietly.  "  Colonel  Goffe, 
pour  me  a  spoonful  from  your  brandy  flask." 


CHAPTER   XV. 

FISH    AND    FISHING    IN    BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

"The  wealth  of  waters." 

E  were  all  anglers,  and  our  journey 
through  British  Columbia  from  the 
Shuswap  Lake  region  to  Vancouver 
was  full  of  the  keenest  interest  to  us. 
We  crossed  the  Columbia  three  hun 
dred  and  seventy  miles  from  Van 
couver  and  entered  Eagle  Pass,  which  opens  a  way 
through  the  Gold  Range,  amid  magnificent  scenery. 
The  valley  is  crowded  with  forest  trees  of  giant  size 
and  of  many  varieties,  which  enrich  the  landscape  with 
a  splended  arboreous  appearance.  The  train  rolls  past 
lovely  lakes,  whose  limpid  waters  stretch  from  base  to 
base  of  the  opposite  mountains,  and  suggest  to  the 


FISH  AND  FISHING  IN  BRITISH  COLUMBIA.      299 

tourist  the  beautiful  lochs  of  Scotland.  Beyond,  are 
the  great  Shuswap  Lakes,  to  which  sportsmen  from  all 
parts  of  the  continent  are  destined  to  come.  At  Sica- 
mous,  hunting  parties  can  find  accommodation  and 
make  their  arrangements  to  enjoy  the  sport  easily  ac 
cessible  from  it  as  a  starting  point.  The  northward- 
going  trails  will  conduct  them  to  the  caribou  grounds, 
and  to  the  south  deer  are  found  in  abundance.  Geese 
and  ducks  in  their  season  abound  in  these  lakes,  whose 
great  extent,  beautiful  shores,  and  accessibility  com 
mend  them  to  the  great  fraternity  of  rod  and  gun. 
These  bodies  of  inland  water  are  fed  by  torrents  and 
mountain  streams,  but  are  themselves  tranquil,  spread 
ing  out  in  placid  reaches  of  great  extent  between  the 
surrounding  hills.  Hundreds  of  miles  of  delightful 
boating  can  be  found  on  these  sheets  of  water,  and  the 
region  around  them  is  sufficiently  settled  and  cultivated 
to  easily  furnish  supplies.  But  the  vast  region  around 
about  these  lakes  is  wholly  unexplored  or  essentially  so, 
and  he  who  loves  adventure  in  an  unknown  country 
can  be  accommodated  to  any  extent.  I  hope  these 
words  will  prompt  many  young  and  vigorous  sportsmen 
to  visit  this  charming  and  most  attractive  section  of  the 
continent,  now  made  so  easy  of  approach  to  them,  and 
that  from  them  I  may,  with  all  who  love  the  outdoor 
life,  receive  spirited  descriptions  of  this  now  almost 
wholly  un visited  region. 

The  fish  supply  in  the  rivers  and  the  coast  waters  of 
British  Columbia  is  simply  beyond  estimate.  No  one 
who  has  not  visited  the  country  and  seen  with  his  own 
eyes  can  credit  the  most  conservative  statement  of  it. 


300 


DAYLIGHT  LAND. 


In  the  Fraser  River  the  tourist  beholds  a  phenomenal 
condition  to  which  there  is  no  parallel  in  any  other 


section  of  the  continent  or  in  any  other  land.  Only 
in  the  Columbia  River  does  the  Fraser  find  a  rival. 
Five  species  of  salmon  frequent  this  river,  and  in  in 
credible  numbers.  In  many  of  the  tributaries  of  it 
they  literally  pack  the  water  solid  from  bank  to  bank. 


FISH   AND   FISHING  IN   BRITISH   COLUMBIA.     301 

The  pools  resembled  purse  nets  when  filled  to  the 
floats.  In  the  Canon  of  the  Fraser  in  summer  months 
millions  of  these  fish  can  be  seen  from  the  car  windows, 
packed  into  the  eddies  of  the  torrent  stream  or  resting 
in  the  lee  of  rocks  and  projections,  gathering  strength 
for  another  rush  upward  through  the  tremulous  water. 
It  is  a  novel  and  picturesque  sight  for  the  tourist 
to  gaze  at.  All  along  the  banks,  and  on  the  project 
ing  rocks  stands  the  Indian,  spear  in  hand ;  he  sud 
denly  rises  to  his  full  height,  his  sinewy  arms,  bared 
to  the  shoulder,  gleaming  in  the  sun,  and  from  his 
nervous  grasp  is  launched  his  salmon  spear.  Well 
aimed,  surely  sent !  A  struggle,  a  splashing,  and  a  glis 
tening  fish  is  lifted  from  the  water  and  lies,  silvery 
white,  on  the  brown  ledge  at  the  spearman's  feet. 

First  of  all  in  the  spring  comes  up  the  silver  salmon, 
a  beautiful  fish  to  look  upon  and  often  of  magnificent 
size,  varying  from  five  to  seventy  pounds.  Their  run 
begins  in  March  and  lasts  until  the  last  of  June. 

o 

Then  come  a  small  species,  but  greatly  prized,  aver 
aging  about  five  pounds  in  weight.  Their  flesh  is 
brightly  pink.  This  is  the  kind  that  is  most  sought 
for  canning  purposes.  They  run  from  June  until 
August.  Next  in  order  is  an  excellent  variety,  much 
esteemed,  averaging  some  seven  pounds  in  weight. 
Then  comes  an  anomaly  among  salmon,  the  "  noan  " 
or  "  humpbacked,"  whose  run  lasts  from  August  into 
winter,  but  which  visits  the  river  but  once  in  two 
years.  And  last  of  all,  in  September  the  "  hook- 
bill  "  appears,  a  fish  that  weighs  as  high  as  twenty-five 
pounds,  and  disappears  at  Christmas.  Such  is  the  list 


302  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

of  the  Fraser  River  salmon   and  their  characteristics. 


and  no  party  of  la 
dies  and  gentlemen 
could  have  a  more 
novel  and  enjoyable 
experience  than  they 
might  obtain  by 
camping  a  week  or  a  month  near  the  Great  Canon  of 
the  Fraser  River  at  Yale,  in  the  months  of  July,  Au 
gust,  and  September,  when  the  gold  seekers  are  wash- 


FISH   AND   FISHING  IN  BRITISH   COLUMBIA.      303 

ing  the  sand  on  the  bars,  and  the  Indians  are  spearing 
salmon  in  the  whirlpools  and  rapids  of  the  Canon.  If 
a  party  camped  amid  such  scenery  and  novel  surround 
ings  did  not  find  rare  enjoyment,  it  would  be  because 
of  something  inherently  depraved  or  cross-grained  in 
their  constitutions.  I  speak  with  deliberation  when  I 
say  that  I  know  not  one  locality  on  the  continent  I 
would  so  quickly  select  for  a  party  of  intelligent  and 
congenial  people  to  camp  a  few  weeks  as  the  Canon  of 
the  Fraser.  It  is  the  one  spot  of  all  others  for  the 
amateur  photographer  and  the  artist  to  visit,  and  it 
would  be  a  real  benefit  to  the  lovers  of  nature  in  its 
sublime  and  strange  aspects  to  have  put  within  their 
reach  pictorial  presentations  of  this  awful  chasm. 

In  addition  to  the  salmon,  the  fresh-water  streams 
and  lakes  abound  with  game  fish.  Whitefish,  salmon 
trout,  brook  trout,  and  big  lake  trout  are  found  in 
abundance  everywhere.  A  rodsman  can  find  prime 
sport  wherever  he  goes  through  the  province,  whether 
among  the  inland  lakes  and  rivers  or  along  the  coast 
waters.  There  is  no  other  stretch  of  coast  on  the 
globe  along  which,  and  in  the  rivers  flowing  into  it,  so 
many  varieties  of  edible  fish  are  caught  as  off  the 
shore  and  in  the  streams  of  British  Columbia.  Beside 
the  salmon  and  trout  are  the  halibut,  the  cod,  the 
mackerel,  the  haddock,  the  rock  cod,  the  flounders, 
and  that  delicious  tidbit  of  marine  delicacy,  the  oola- 
han  or  candle  fish.  This  little  fish  is  of  the  size  of  a 
sardine  and  has  a  flavor  peculiarly  its  own,  so  piquant 
and  delicate  as  to  justify  its  claim  of  being,  par  excel 
lence,  an  epicurean  morsel.  Prepared  for  the  plate 
fresh  from  the  water,  it  is  exceedingly  delicious,  while 


304 


DAYLIGHT  LAND. 


its  oil  is  said  to  be  preferable  to  cod-liver  oil  for  medi 
cinal  purposes.  These  fish  are  supposed  to  come  from 
far  northern  waters,  and  they  come  in  numberless 
quantities.  They  enter  the  Fraser  about  the  first  of 
May,  and  swarm  up  its  current  as  bees  swarm  in  a 
hive.  The  herrings  of  the  coast  are  equally  number 
less.  These  are  somewhat  smaller  than  those  found 
along  the  shores  of  Labrador  and  the  British  Isles,  but 
as  food  are  fully  as  good  as  those  caught  in  the  waters 
of  the  Atlantic.  It  is  only  when  one  adds  to  the  fish 
supply  of  eastern  Canada  the  even  larger  one  of  Brit 
ish  Columbia,  that  the  value  of  the  Canadian  fisheries 
to  herself  and  the  world  can  be  realized. 


DRYING    CANDLE    FISH. 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

VANCOUVER. 


HAT  San  Francisco  was  once,  Van 
couver  is  now,  —  an  oak  within  an 
acorn,  a  vital  root  well  placed,  but 
only  just  sprouted ;  but  all  the  condi 
tions  of  a  great  city  are  here,  and  here 
a  great  city  is  to  be.  Colonel  Goffe, 
I  will  buy  this  corner  lot  if  you  will 

take  the   opposite  one,  or  I  will  toss  for  the  choice. 

What  say  you  ?  "     It  was  Mr.  Pepperell  who  spoke. 
"  Judge,  you  pitch  for  us,"   replied  the  Man  from 

New  Hampshire,  laconically.     Up  went  the  cent,  and 

as  it  came  down  and  rolled  curving  through  the  dust, 


308  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

the  two  speculators  chased  it,  laughing  like  boys,  to  see 
who  had  won  the  lot  on  which  we  were  standing. 

"  Well,  well,"  exclaimed  the  Judge,  as  the  two  men 
scuffled  over  the  penny,  "  you  are  genuine  Yankees, 
and  you  type  both  the  shrewdness  and  recklessness  of 
our  countrymen,  who  buy  bits  of  the  continent  as 
brokers  do  stocks,  and  purchase  locations  as  gamblers 
do  chips.  One  might  fancy  that  you  think  you  are 
standing  on  the  site  of  a  future  Chicago  by  the  way 
you  are  acting." 

"  You  old  Areopagite,"  exclaimed  Mr.  Pepperell,  as 
he  wrestled  with  the  Colonel  for  the  token.  "  We  don't 
think  any  such  thing,  but  we  know  that  fifty  thousand 
people  will  have  their  homes  here  on  this  peninsula 
within  twenty  years,  and  we  know  that  two  big  build 
ings  will  stand  on  these  corner  lots  inside  of  a  year, 
for  we  will  build  them  ourselves." 

66  How  do  you  figure  that  out  ?  "  retorted  the  Judge. 
"  This  is  n't  Yankee  land,  remember,  and  Canadians 
move  slowly." 

"Judge  Doe,"  responded  Mr.  Pepperell,  as  he  let 
go  his  hold  on  the  Colonel,  and  sobered  down,  "  we 
have  been  in  this  city  two  days.  The  Colonel  and  I 
have  been  canvassing  this  place,  and  we  have  sized  up 
the  outlook  to  a  shaving.  The  conditions  which  make 
for  success  are  all  here.  In  the  first  place  the  men 
who  have  founded  this  city  have  the  right  stuff  in 
them.  There  is  n't  a  slow  drop  of  blood  in  their  veins. 
They  are  not  a  gang  of  mere  speculators.  They  are 
gentlemen  of  substance  and  character,  and  they  have 
come  to  stay.  They  have  put  in  their  money,  thou- 


TOSSING    FOR    CORNER    LOTS. 


VANCOUVER.  311 

sands  and  thousands  of  it.  Look  at  these  solid  blocks 
of  stone  and  brick,  at  that  opera  house,  at  that  hotel 
which  must  have  cost  nigh  on  to  a  quarter  of  a  mil 
lion  ;  look  at  their  gas  works  and  water  works,  their 
steam  fire-engines,  their  miles  of  paved  streets  and 
sidewalks,  that  magnificent  driving  park,  with  its 
splendid  boulevard  clear  around  it,  their  boating  club 
and  athletic  grounds,  those  lines  of  wharves  and  yon 
der  huge  steamships  loading  and  unloading  at  them. 
6  Boomers '  and  land  gamblers  don't  do  such  work  as 
these  men  have  done  here.  They  are  Americanized 
Canadians,  sir,  the  best  city  builders  on  the  continent, 
for  they  build  with  the  solidity  of  the  English  and  the 
celerity  of  the  Yankee.  Colonel  Goffe,  you  villain 
you,  which  lot  am  I  to  take  ?  If  there  was  the  differ 
ence  of  a  dollar  between  them,  I  wrould  have  you  up 
before  the  peripatetic  court  that  travels  around  with 
us  and  compel  you  to  disgorge." 

Vancouver  —  the  city,  I  mean,  not  the  huge  island 
of  that  name  lying  thirty  miles  out  in  the  Pacific,  and 
stretching  three  hundred  miles  northward  like  a  great 
natural  breakwater,  as  it  is,  along  the  coast  —  Van 
couver  is  a  city  site,  literally  hewn  out  of  the  solid 
forest,  which,  with  its  gigantic  timber  trees,  makes  the 
sea  front  of  British  Columbia.  And  what  a  forest  it 
is !  An  Eastern  born  man  knows  nothing  of  it  unless 
he  has  crossed  the  continent  and  actually  seen  it,  nor 
can  he  conceive  of  it,  for  the  woods  of  the  East  supply 
him  with  no  standard  of  comparison  ;  even  the  largest 
pines  of  Michigan  give  him  only  a  hint  of  what  this 
mighty  forest  of  the  Pacific  coast  really  is.  The  trees 


312 


DAYLIGHT  LAND. 


stand  from  two  hundred  and  fifty  to  three  hundred 
feet  in  height,  and  so  densely  packed  together  that 
progress  among  them  is  absolutely  impossible.  Large 
tracts  are  actually  destitute  of  game  because  of  the 
density  of  this  forest  growth.  Here  is  a  lumber  supply 
for  the  whole  world  for  centuries  to  come.  As  a  source 
of  future  wealth  to  the  country,  its  value  cannot  be 
overestimated.  The  market  for  this  lumber  is  found 
in  Japan,  in  China,  in  Australia,  in  San  Francisco,  in 
local  development,  and  in  that  measureless  demand 
which  the  prairies,  only  five  hundred  miles  to  the  east, 
wiU  make  upon  it  when  they  are  peopled  with  their 
millions,  as  they  soon  will  be,  and  cities  like  Minne 
apolis  and  St.  Paul  and  Duluth  stand  on  the  great 
water-courses  which  thread  the  Mackenzie  Basin  with 


VANCOUVER. 


313 


possibilities  of  inland  commerce,  and  steel  pathways 
connect  them  with  Lake  Superior,  or  straight  eastward, 
south  of  James's  Bay,  with  the  Saguenay,  at  Chicou- 
timi.  Place  the  minerals,  the  fish,  the  coal,  and  the 
forests  of  British  Columbia  in  the  one  scale,  and  how 
many  millions  of  dollars,  do  you  fancy,  you  will  have 
to  pile  into  the  opposite  scale  to  bring  the  bar  level  ? 
No  intelligent  American  ever  visited  this  Pacific  prov 
ince  of  Canada,  and  saw  what  it  contains,  and  did  not 
grind  his,  teeth  as  he  recalled  how  the  miserable,  blun 
dering,  partisan  politics  of  the  Polk  regime,  lost  it  to 
the  Great  Republic.  Let  any  statesman  who  loves  his 
country  and  is  proud  of  its  vast  geographical  extent 
and  future  greatness,  take  a  map  of  the  Pacific  coast 
and  see  what  a  gap  this  one  province  of  the  Dominion 


314  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

makes  in  its  western  sea  line,  —  longer  by  far  than  the 
Atlantic  coast  from  the  Florida  Keys  to  Cape  Breton. 
And,  verily,  what  did  the  Polk  administration  do  to 
make  amends  to  the  American  people  for  this  criminal 
blunder?  Had  Folk's  secretary  of  state  secured  Brit 
ish  Columbia  for  us  as  Seward  secured  Alaska,  —  well, 
things  would  now  be  a  good  deal  different  from  what 
they  are,  would  n't  they  ?  The  Republic  has  been 
taxed  pretty  heavily  to  support  her  petty  politicians  and 
miserable  partisan  politics,  truly. 

Out  of  such  a  forest,  as  we  said,  a  site  for  Van 
couver  City  has  been  hewn.  It  cost  three  hundred 
dollars  per  acre  to  merely  fell  and  burn  the  gigantic 
growth.  When  we  arrived,  only  two  trees  were  still 
standing,  and  they  were  burning  like  a  blast  furnace 
inside  their  hollow  trunks.  They  were  nearly  three 
hundred  feet  in  height  and  measured  between  thirty 
and  forty  feet  in  circumference.  For  one  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  they  rose  like  mammoth  pillars  of  wood, 
straight  as  a  plumb  line,  bare  of  branch  or  knot.  Our 
artist  sketched  them  on  the  spot  only  an  hour  before 
they  fell  with  a  sweep,  a  rush,  and  a  roar  of  sound 
as  if  the  columns  which  uphold  the  sky  had  slipped 
from  their  bases  and  a  section  of  heaven  had  dropped 
suddenly  —  a  vast  ruin  —  to  the  earth.  The  earth 
trembled  to  the  shock  of  their  overthrow,  the  air 
groaned,  and  as  the  roar  of  their  fall  rolled  across  the 
level  water  of  Burrard's  Inlet,  through  the  still  air,  the 
mountains  beyond  sent  back  the  murmurs  of  their  re 
gret.  Alas,  that  life  must  forever  feed  its  growth  on 
death,  and  human  progress  advance  only  over  the  ruins 
of  the  perfect ! 


CEDAR,    VANCOUVER    PARK:     50    FEET    IN    CIRCUMFERENCE. 


VANCOUVER. 


317 


They  fell,  and  the  saws  went  at  them.     How  their 

senseless,  hungry,  cruel  teeth 
ate  into  and  destroyed  the 
majesty  of  their  sublime  pro 
portions  !  We  turned  away, 
from  a  sense  of  pain  and 
sheer  vexation.  In  the  even 
ing  the  Judge  and  I  crept  up 
through  the  debris  and  heavy 
semi-tropical  undergrowth  to 
the  crown  of  the  hill  on 
which  they  had  stood.  The 
warm  evening  air  was  filled 
with  a  ruddy  glow,  for  a 
hundred  giant  stumps  were 
still  feebly  gasping  forth  fire. 
We  lighted  two  resinous 
torches  and  counted  the 
rings  which  would  give  us 
the  measure  of  their  age. 
"  Six  hundred  and  seven- 


ty-four  years  old  !  "  gasped  the  Judge,  and  he  dropped 
his  torch  to  the  ground.     "  My  God  !  these  trees  were 


318  DAYLIGHT   LAND. 

older  than  the  landing  of  Columbus,  older  than  Magna 
Charta,  older  than  the  first  translation  of  the  Bible  into 
English,  and  last  week  they  stood  with  a  thousand  years 
of  life  ahead  of  them,  and  these  men  of  Vancouver 
have  levelled  them  to  the  earth  with  as  little  sense  of 
what  they  were  doing  as  the  Vandals  had  when  they 
overturned  the  immortal  sculptures  of  Rome,  and 
trampled  the  triumphs  of  art  under  the  hoofs  of  their 
chargers  !  It  is  simply  brutal.  But  the  trees  will  have 
long  and  sure  revenge." 

"  How  is  that  ?  "  I  queried,  as  I  flung  my  torch  away 
in  rage  at  what  had  been  done,  for  I  shared  the  indig 
nation  of  my  companion.  "  How  will  these  thought 
less  people  be  punished  for  this  wanton  deed  ?  " 

"  Mr.  Murray,"  cried  the  Judge  in  reply,  "  Bos 
ton  would  give  a  million  of  dollars  to  have  two  such 
trees,  growthful  and  strong  with  six  centuries  of  growth 
and  ten  centuries  of  life  ahead  of  them  on  her  Com 
mon.  What  would  London  give  for  two  such  monu 
ments  ?  What  Paris  ?  Had  these  Vancouver  men  had 
the  reverence  or  wit  to  have  set  apart  a  space  six  hun 
dred  feet  across  for  a  small  park  on  this  knoll,  —  the 
very  centre  and  crown  of  their  city,  that  is  to  be,  — 
they  would  have  made  it  the  Mecca  of  thousands  upon 
thousands  of  visitors  each  year.  That  railroad  there 
could  have  afforded  to  pay  a  million  of  dollars  to  have 
kept  these  two  gigantic  trees,  these  majestic  monu 
ments  of  past  centuries,  built  up  from  the  soil,  the  air, 
and  the  sunshine,  by  the  Lord,  standing  here.  There 
is  not  a  sculpture,  shaft,  or  fresco  in  Rome,  that  can 
compare  with  these  trees  as  they  stood  but  yesterday 


VANCOUVER.  321 

in  their  attractiveness  to  the  eyes  and  the  imagination 
of  men.  These  trees  thus  preserved  would  have  made 
their  city  one  of  the  noted  cities  of  the  world.  Every 
pen  that  came  hither  would  have  written  of  them  ; 
every  pencil  have  sketched  them;  every  brush  made 
them  the  foreground  of  this  magnificent  view  ;  every 
tongue  told  of  them  to  listening  ears  far  away.  The 
Bank  of  England  put  at  their  disposal  could  not  buy 
for  them  such  an  advertisement  as  these  two  trees  gave 
them  free  of  cost.  And  now  they  lie  in  these  hot 
ashes  lost  to  the  world  forever,  burning  as  if  they  were 
an  offense  to  the  eye,  a  stench  to  the  senses,  a  collec 
tion  of  offal.  What  a  pity,  what  a  loss  !  Come,  let  us 
get  away  from  this  spot.  The  air  is  filled  with  the 
reproach  of  the  centuries  that  look  upon  their  highest 
artistic  result  as  despised  and  rejected  of  men.  I  shall 
always  think  of  Vancouver  as  I  should  of  Rome  if 
St.  Peter's  were  destroyed  by  a  mob." 

It  was  not  until  we  had  returned  to  the  hotel,  and 
the  Judge  had  seated  himself  at  a  table  in  the  supper 
room,  that  he  regained  his  wonted  spirits.  The  vast 
and  elegant  hostelry  was  filled  with  happy  noises,  for  a 
band  of  stringed  instruments  was  playing  and  fifty 
couples  were  whirling  through  the  mazes  of  a  waltz, 
while  the  low  buzz  of  conversation  in  the  wide  corridors, 
and  now  and  then  a  peal  of  merry  laughter  mingled 
pleasantly  with  the  strains  of  music.  It  was  in  truth  a 
bright  and  animated  scene,  and  one  most  suggestive 
withal. 

"  This  is  a  most  astonishing  spectacle,"  remarked 
the  Judge,  as  we  sat  on  one  of  the  wide  verandas  of 


322  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

the  great  house,  gazing  through  the  wide  open  win 
dows  at  the  merry  dancers  whirling  around  the  large 
hall  within.  "  Two  years  ago  this  city  site  was  covered 
with  a  mighty  forest,  so  dense  that  even  a  bear  could 
scarcely  thread  a  way  through  it,  and  now  behold  what 
is  here,  —  blocks  of  brick  and  stone,  wide  streets,  pave 
ments  echoing  to  the  tread  of  a  thousand  feet,  gas, 
electric  lights,  green  swarded  lawns,  fountains,  flowers, 
and  a  fashionable  hop  in  a  hotel  that  cost  a  quarter  of 
a  million  of  money.  That  train  rolling  into  the  depot 
yonder  has  two  coaches  in  it  filled  with  Bostonians. 
Massachusetts  Bay  sends  its  greeting  to  Burrard's  Inlet. 
What  would  not  San  Francisco  have  given  for  rail  con 
nection  with  the  Atlantic,  when  her  census  counted 
only  seven  thousand.  And  what  an  impetus  such  a 
connection  would  have  given  to  her  development.  Mr. 
Pepperell,  this  is  an  age  of  enchantment,  as  you  say. 
The  wand  of  measureless  power  is  being  waved  over 
this  continent,  and  no  man  can  predict  the  rate  of  its 
progress  in  civilization.  This  in  truth  is  the  day  when 
old  men  can  dream  dreams  and  our  young  men  be 
hold  visions.  We  Americans  and  our  Canadian  neigh 
bors  must  join  hands  and  keep  them  joined  in  strong 
fraternal  clasp.  We  are  brethren.  The  continent  geo 
graphically  is  a  unit,  and  we  who  shape  its  develop 
ment  in  wealth  and  population  must  shape  it  along  the 
lines  of  affectionate  union.  The  Lord  of  it  will  smite 
us  in  his  wrath  if  we  do  otherwise.  The  moonlight 
on  yonder  mountains  and  the  music  might  well  keep 
us  from  sleep,  but  we  must  start  fresh  as  boys  for  Vic 
toria  to-morrow,  and  hence  the  couch  must  be  honored. 


THE    BALL. 


VANCOUVER. 


325 


Gentlemen,  I  wish  you  good  night,  restful  sleep,  and 
pleasant  dreams."  And  we  strolled  away  to  our  rooms. 
Dear  old,  courteous,  wise,  happy-hearted  Judge  — 
a  gentleman,  that  highest  of  titles  —  thy  face  is  a  pic 
ture  which  the  memory  of  three  men  will  keep  until  all 
bright  pictures  fade  and  all  sweet  earthly  things  are 
forgotten,  if  they  ever  shall  be.  Who  knows  ? 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE    PARTING    AT    VICTORIA. 


HESE  are  not  Indians,"  said 
the  Judge,  as  we  stood  on  the 
bridge  at  Victoria,  looking 
down  upon  a  dozen  Siwash 
canoes  filled  with  their  strange 
looking  owners.  "  These  are 
not  Indians,"  he  repeated,  "  they  are  Mongolians." 

"  And  look  at  their  boats,"  exclaimed  Mr.  Pepperell ; 
"  they  have  n't  the  least  resemblance  to  a  birch-bark 
canoe.  They  suggest  the  Chinese  junks,  rather.  Ob 
serve  their  length,  narrowness,  and  high,  projecting 
prows." 

"  Not  a  bad  boat  for  a  heavy  sea,"  I  remarked. 
"  That  one  putting  off  from  the  shore  must  be  forty 


THE   PARTING.  329 

feet  long,  and  with  her  twenty  paddles,  and  well  steered, 
would  climb  safely  over  a  mighty  big  swell,  for  she  sits 
as  lightly  on  the  water  as  if  made  of  bamboo." 

"  Look  there,"  cried  Mr.  Pepperell,  pointing  to  a 
boat  just  coming  into  sight  from  under  the  bridge. 
"  That  is  the  Medicine  Man  of  the  tribe,  and  his  wife." 

"  Well,"  said  the  Colonel,  "  I  am  a  great  admirer  of 
the  ladies,  but  I  must  confess  that  Mrs.  Medicine  Man 
does  n't  impress  me  as  being  a  great  beauty.  What 
do  you  say,  Judge  ?  " 

"  This  is  a  very  strange  spectacle,"  responded  the 
Judge ;  "  a  very  strange  spectacle,  indeed.  I  have  seen 
many  queer  looking  people,  but  I  have  never  seen  a 
more  singular  looking  folk  than  these  Siwash  Indians. 
Ethnologically,  I  don't  know  where  to  place  them." 

It  was  a  strange  spectacle  in  truth.  The  river  was 
covered  with  their  long,  light,  narrow  craft.  Some 
were  shooting  rapidly  along  in  straight  courses,  some 
drifting  with  the  tide,  others  grouped  side  by  side. 
The  tribe  were  preparing  to  move  off  on  a  fishing  ex 
cursion,  and  the  low  soft  murmur  of  many  voices  filled 
the  air.  All  was  activity,  but  there  was  no  bustle,  no 
confusion,  no  sharp  word  of  command  or  loud  calls. 
A  pretty  sight  they  made  as  they  moved  away,  a  long 
procession  of  strange  looking  boats,  each  trailing  ex 
actly  in  line  of  the  one  ahead  of  it,  the  paddles  rising 
and  falling  in  concert,  the  blue  water  beneath  them 
and  their  high-colored  blankets  showing  brightly  in 
the  sun. 

"  Bon  voyage  !  Bon  voyage  !  "  cried  the  Judge  to 
them  as  the  last  canoe  passed  from  under  the  bridge 
on  which  we  stood,  and  glided  away. 


330 


DAYLIGHT  LAND. 


The  steersman,  an  old  wrinkled  Siwash,  who  was 
standing  in  the  stern  of  the  craft,  looked  up  at  the 
Judge  and  smiled ;  at  least  his  leathery  face  was  sud 
denly  cut  up  into  wrinkles,  and  his  toothless  gums 
showed  between  his  parted  lips. 

"  That  was  n't  a  bad  grin, 
Judge,"  said  the  Man  from  New 
Hampshire.  "  Ethnologically  I 
should  place  that  old  specimen  of 
Siwash  antiquity  halfway  between 
a  low-bred  Mongolian  and  a  high 
bred  ape.  Darwin  should  have  come  to  Victoria  for 
his  <  connecting  link.'  ' 

Victoria  is  well  worth  seeing.     The  tourist  can  find 
entertainment  there.     He  can  pick  up  a  quantity  of  in 
teresting  curios  and  not  be  swindled  in  so  doing.     We 
four  spent  the  day,  happy-hearted 
as  boys  in  their  first  journey  from 
home.    Life  brings  many  losses  to 
us,  as  we  live,  but  none  greater 
than  the  loss  of  the   boyish    eye 
and  heart.     He  who  keeps  these, 
long  after  his  head  is  white,  has 
prolonged  the  finest  pleasures  of 
life.     What  a  day  we  four  gray- 
headed  l?oys  had  at  this  most  western  city  of  our  race, 
thrust  out  from  the  continent  like  a  picket  in  front  of 
an  encamped  army. 

We  visited  the  fish  market  and  saw  how  royally  the 
city  was  fed  by  the  sea,  —  salmon,  trout,  halibut,  had 
dock,  cod,  the  delicious  oolahan  or  candle  fish,  and  a 


THE  PARTING. 


331 


dozen  sorts,  some  of  them  new  to  us.  In  one  market 
we  found  a  huge  octopus  or  devil-fish  suspended  for 
advertisement,  a  ghastly  creature,  with  tentacled  arms 
nine  feet  in  stretch.  The  Italians  and  Chinese  eat 
them.  And  the  marketman  assured  us  that  "  octopus 
steak  was  n't  bad  eating." 

"  Let  me  get  out  of  this  place," 
cried  the  Judge,  shudderingly, 
"  or  I  shall  not  eat  a  mouthful  of 
dinner  to-day." 

«  That  devil-fish,"  said  the  Man 
from  New  Hampshire,  "  does  make 
a  man  feel  a  little  creepy  inside, 
does  n't  it,  Judge  ?  " 

We  visited  stores  where  furs  and  skins  are  bought 
of  the  Indians,  and  the  warehouses  where  they  are 
packed.  What  a  collection  of  furs  we  saw  !  And 
there  all,  save  one  of  us,  saw  for 
the  first  time  that  finest,  rarest 
fur  of  the  world,  the  magnificent 
sea  otter.  Did  you  ever  see  one, 
madame  ?  No  ?  What  pleasure 
you  have  awaiting  you  ahead. 
Wait  until  your  white  fingers  can 
feel  their  way  through  the  fur  of 
a  sea  otter  !  Ah,  me,  beaver  will 
never  content  you  after  that.  We 

visited  all  the  pawnshops,  and  in  them  discovered  many 
curious  bits  brought  from  the  four  corners  of  the  earth, 
—  Japan,  China,  Australia,  New  Zealand,  the  two  In 
dies,  the  Arctic  Ocean,  Mexico,  and  Palestine,  all  had 


332 


DAYLIGHT  LAND. 


contributed  to  the  unique  collections.  Strange  pipes, 
antique  arms,  nuggets  of  gold,  pearls,  rude  coins,  In 
dian  armor  deftly  quilted.  Grotesque  masks,  flaming 


head-dresses,  and  skins  from  every  furred  animal  of  the 
continent.  In  one  shop  we  were  shown  an  Oriental 
ruby,  the  iridescent  splendors  of  which  were  beyond 
all  conception. 


THE  PARTING.  333 

"  A  stone/'  said  the  Judge,  "to  be  set  in  the  gate 
of  heaven."  That  describes  it. 

Then  there  were  specimens  of  Indian  workmanship, 
carved  plates  and  salvers  of  jet  black  stone,  valued  at 
a  hundred  dollars  each ;  birds  and  fish  and  national 
banners  fashioned  in  pure  gold,  exquisitely  wrought ; 
baskets,  woven  from  the  fibres  of  roots,  in  which  water 
can  be  boiled ;  juvenile  toys  in  wicker  in  loveliest  of 
colors;  bows  and  arrows  from  polished  bone,  tipped 
with  stone  or  steel,  dipped  in  deadliest  poisons ;  gam 
bling  sticks  and  conjurers'  robes,  and  a  hundred  and 
one  odd  things,  novel  and  most  instructive  to  civilized 
people,  —  how  much  we  saw  and  how  much  we  enjoyed 
it  all.  What  a  day  we  four  tourists  had  at  Victoria  ! 

Thus  pleasantly  passed  the  day,  and  pleasantly  it 
drew  to  its  close.  We  were  standing  on  the  battery 
south  of  the  city,  as  it  declined.  In  front  of  us  the 
water  stretched  away,  level  as  a  floor,  —  a  wide  emer 
ald  plain  with  the  shifting  colors  of  sunset  playing 
over  it,  coming  and  going,  deepening  and  fading.  To 
the  east  and  south  we  saw  the  snowy  peak  of  Mount 
Baker.  To  the  west  the  red  sun  was  going  slowly 
downward,  carrying  all  its  splendors  into  the  great 
ocean  whose  farther  waves  were  rolling  in  white  far  up 
on  orient  beaches.  We  had  come  to  the  end  of  our 
journey.  It  had  been,  as  the  Judge  had  predicted  at 
the  start,  a  happy  one  to  us  all,  and  with  happy  hearts 
we  were  ready  to  turn  our  faces  toward  our  distant 
homes.  What  a  revelation  it  had  been  to  us !  The 
Judge  was  to  take  boat  to  the  Golden  Gate,  and  we 
escorted  him  on  board,  anxious  to  be  with  one  whose 


334  DAYLIGHT  LAND. 

intelligence  and  urbanity  had  ministered  so  much  to 
our  entertainment  as  we  journeyed,  to  the  last  moment. 
"  Gentlemen/'  said  the  Judge,  "  this  winter  you 
must  all  come  to  San  Francisco,  and  be  my  guests ;  we 
will  do  California,  Mexico,  and  Arizona,  together.  Next 
summer,  Mr.  Pepperell,  you  shall  be  our  host  for  a 


week,  and  we  will  eat  beans  with  you  at  the  Somerset 
Club.  By  that  time  we  can  buy  tickets  through  to 
Yokohama  and  Hong  Kong,  and  see  the  West  and  the 
East,  both  hemispheres,  and  the  youngest  and?  oldest 
civilization  in  the  world  side  by  side  in  one  trip.  Such 
opportunities  of  pleasure  and  profit  mankind  have 
never  enjoyed  before  since  the  race  was  born.  What 
say  you,  gentlemen,  shall  we  go  over  and  see  the  land 
of  the  Celestials  next  summer  ?  " 

"  Judge  Doe,"  answered  Colonel  Goffe,  "  when  the 
golden  sands  of  California  call,  the  rich  soil  of  New 
Hampshire  will  respond.  I  will  buy  a  railroad  ticket 
to  any  spot  in  this  world,  or  the  next,  you  may  suggest, 
provided  it  gives  me  your  company.  Only  let  us  have 


THE    PARTING. 


THE   PARTING.  337 

Jack  Osgood  along  with  us,  for  he  and  I  are  bound  to 
pick  up  a  little  paying  investment,  occasionally,  wher 
ever  we  go,  unless  different  arrangements  prevail  there 
from  what  we  have  in  New  Hampshire,"  and  then, 
lifting  his  beaver,  the  tall,  gray-headed  Yankee,  born 
trader  and  traveUer,  type  of  that  energy  and  courage 
which  have  threaded  their  strength  and  color  into  the 
warp  and  woof  of  the  continent,  and  whose  shrewd 
remarks  and  quaint,  rippling  humor  had  been  half  the 
life  of  the  party,  led  us  off  in  that  royal  old  bit  of 
loving  sentiment,  — 

"  Should  auld  acquaintance  be  forgot 
And  never  brought  to  mind  ? 
Should  auld  acquaintance  be  forgot 
And  days  of  auld  Lang  Syne  ?  " 

We  sang  it  bravely,  we  four  gray-headed  men,  stand 
ing  on  the  deck  of  the  steamer  with  the  purple  light 
of  the  early  gloaming  upon  us.  Nor  did  we  sing  it  far 
as  a  quartette  ;  for  on  the  deck  were  other  wanderers 
like  ourselves,  far  from  friends  and  home,  and  among 
them  a  group  of  Scottish  immigrants,  red-haired,  rough- 
bearded,  and  who  were  as  responsive  to  the  first  note 
of  the  grand  old  stave  as  powder  is  to  the  spark,  and 
whose  strong  voices,  with  their  broad  accent,  joined 
in  with  such  a  rush  and  roar  of  sound  as  the  Camp 
bells  brought  with  them  when  they  charged  into 
Lucknow. 

At  the  close  ?  Well,  there  were  tears  in  our  eyes. 
You  need  n't  laugh,  young  man.  Wait  till  you  get 
on  toward  your  evening,  and  know  what  home,  country, 


338 


DAYLIGHT  LAND. 


and  partings  mean.  You  will  never  laugh  then  at  the 
noble  moistening  of  eyes.  As  I  came  off  the  boat  I 
ran  against  a  big  Australian  who  had  just  parted  at 
the  gate  with  his  wife. 

"  Beg  pardon,"  he  said,  "  I  did  n't  see  you  coming." 
"  I  beg  your  pardon,"   I  returned,  "  I   did  n't  see 
you  either." 

Then  we  looked  at  each  other,  and  we  both  saw  why 
we  had  not  seen  ! 


WORKS  BY  W.  H.  H.  MURRAY. 

A 


DAYLIGHT   LAND. 

The  Experiences,  Incidents,  and  Adventures,  Humorous  and  Other 
wise,  which  befell  Judge  JOHN  DOE,  Tourist,  of  San  Francisco  ; 
Mr.  CEPHAS  PEPPERELL,  Capitalist,  of  Boston  ;  Colonel 
GOFFE,  the  Man  from  New  Hampshire,  and  divers 
others,  in  their  Par  lor- Car  Excursion  over 
Prairie  and  Mountain  ;  as  recorded  and 
set  forth  by  W.  H.  H.  MURRAY. 

Superbly  illustrated  with  150  cuts  in  various  colors  by  the  best  artists, 

CONTENTS:  Introduction  — The  Meeting — A  Breakfast  —  A  Very  Hope 
ful  Man  — The  Big  Nepigon  Trout  —  The  Man  in  the  Velveteen  Jacket  — The 
Capitalist  —  Camp  at  Rush  Lake  —  Big  Game  —  A  Strange  Midnight  Ride  — 
Banff  —  Sabbath  among  the  Mountains — Nameless  Mountains  —  The  Great 
Glacier  —  The  Hermit  of  Frazer  Canon —  Fish  and  Fishing  in  British  Colum 
bia —  Vancouver  —  Parting  at  Victoria. 

8vo,  338  pages.     Unique  paper  boards,  $2.50;  cloth,  $3.50;  cloth,  full 

gilt,  $4.00. 

Mr.  Murray  has  chosen  the  northwestern  side  of  the  continent  for 
the  scene  of  this  book  ;  a  region  of  country  which  is  little  known  by  the 
average  reader,  but  which  in  its  scenery,  its  game,  and  its  vast  material 
and  undeveloped  resources  supplies  the  author  with  a  subject  which  has 
not  been  trenched  upon  even  by  the  magazines,  and  which  he  has  treated 
in  that  lively  and  spirited  manner  for  which  he  is  especially  gifted.  The 
result  is  a  volume  full  of  novel  information  of  the  country,  humorous 
and  pathetic  incidents,  vivid  descriptions  of  its  magnificent  scenery, 
shrewd  forecasts  of  its  future  wealth  and  greatness  when  developed,  il 
lustrated  and  embellished  with  such  lavishness  and  artistic  elegance  as 
has  never  before  been  attempted  in  any  similar  work  in  this  country. 

The  Critic,  in  a  recent  issue,  receiving  the  illustrated  edition  of  Daudet's 
"  Robert  Helmont,"  says,  "  We  wonder  if  the  time  will  ever  come  when  the 
creations  of  our  own  writers  will  be  interpreted  with  equal  sympathy,"  and,  in 
view  thereof,  we  would  respectfully  submit  the  above  book  to  the  critics  and 
the  public  at  large  in  evidence  that  the  long-desired  time  has  now  arrived. 

CUPPLES   AND    HURD,   PUBLISHERS, 
BOSTON,  MASS. 

for  other  books,  see  next  page. 


ADIRONDACK   TALES. 

BY  W.  H.  H.  MURRAY. 

Illustrated.     i2mo,  300  pages,  $1.25. 

CONTENTS. 

John  Norton's  Christmas.  Was  it  Suicide? 

Henry  Herbert's  Thanksgiving.  The  Gambler's  Death. 

A  Strange  Visitor.  The  Old  Beggar's  Dog. 

Lost  in  the  Woods.  The  Ball. 

A  Jolly  Camp.  Who  was  he  ? 

Comment  on  these  seem  almost  superfluous,  so  well  are  they  known 
and  appreciated.  The  quaintness  and  upright  sturdiness  of  John  Nor 
ton,  the  weird  "  Strange  Visitor,"  the  solemnity  of  "  The  Gambler's 
Death  "  in  the  very  heart  of  nature,  the  deep  pathos  of  "  The  Old 
Beggar's  Dog,"  the  spontaneous  jollity  of  "  The  Ball,"  the  mystery  of 
"  Was  it  Suicide  ?  "  and  "  Who  was  he  ?  "  all  appeal  most  powerfully 
to  our  many-facetted  nature.  And  over  all,  and  in  all,  and  through  alf, 
is  the  charm  of  Mr.  Murray's  individuality  expressed  in  his  unique 
style.  Critics  have  in  vain  endeavored  to  define  that  quality  in  a  book 
which  renders  it  appreciated  by  every  reader ;  we  all  know  that  it  ex 
ists,  but  it  eludes  all  effort  to  crystallize  it  into  a  phrase. 

These  stories  are  full  of  that  subtle  charm,  and  their  daily  increasing 
popularity  abundantly  testifies  to  the  fact. 


ADVENTURES    IN  THE  WILDERNESS; 

OR,  CAMP  LIFE  IN  THE  ADIRONDACK^. 
BY  W.   H.   H.   MURRAY. 

Illustrated.    12010,  $1.25. 

CONTENTS. 

INTRODUCTION.  CHAP. 

CHAP.  6.  Crossing  the  Carry. 

1.  The  Wilderness.  7.  Rod  and  Reel. 

2.  The  Nameless  Creek.  8.  Phantom  Falls. 

3.  Running  the  Rapid.  9.  Jack-Shooting  in  a  Foggy  Night. 

4.  The  Ball.  10.  Sabbath  in  the  Woods. 

5.  Loon-Shooting  in  a  Thunder-Storm,     u.  A  Ride  with  a  Mad  Horse  in  a 

Freight  Car. 

This  book,  originally  published  twenty  years  ago,  is  now  republished 
in  response  to  repeated  general  inquiries.  Many  will  remember  its 
immense  popularity  at  the  time  of  its  first  issue,  when  it  practically 
directed  the  attention  of  the  American  public  to  an  unknown  section 
of  their  country  ;  and  earned  for  the  author  the  sobriquet  of  "  Adi 
rondack"  Murray. 

Distinguished  as  an  orator,  he  then  introduced  to  the  reading  world 
those  wonderful  gifts  of  descriptive  writing,  genuine  humor  and  pa 
thos,  and  complete  sympathy  with  Nature  in  her  various  moods,  which 
have  now  become  so  well  known,  and  this  work  will  ever  be  found 
fresh  and  breezy,  picturesque  and  amusing,  besides  being  one  of  the 
best  guide-books  extant  to  the  wonderful  and  beautiful  region  of  which 
it  treats. 


a  TBrtef 

OF 

W.    H.    H.    MURRAY. 


W.  H.  H.  MURRAY  was  born  in  1840  at  Guilford,  Connecticut. 
His  earliest  characteristic  was  love  of  books.  He  was  born 
with  a  passion  for  knowledge.  Before  entering  college  and  dur 
ing  his  course  he  studied  poetry  and  belles-lettres  under  Fitz- 
Greene  Halleck,  the  poet,  with  whom  he  was  a  great  favorite. 

Mr.  Murray  was  graduated  from  Yale  in  the  class  of  '62. 
While  at  Yale,  he  was,  above  all  else,  a  reader  of  books.  His 
memory  was  extraordinary,  and  he  seemed  incapable  of  forget 
ting.  A  book  once  read  was  his  at  call  forever.  The  great 
object  of  all  his  reading  and  study  was  his  native  tongue.  He 
mastered  English  literature  from  beginning  to  date.  He  read 
everything ;  he  read  critically,  and  he  never  forgot  what  he  read. 

After  his  graduation  he  studied  theology  at  East  Windsor 
and  under  private  teachers.  His  first  engagement  as  preacher 
was  as  assistant  to  Dr.  Edward  Hatfield,  D.  D.,  New  York  City. 
This  engagement  terminated  with  Dr.  Hatfield's  resignation. 
He  then  served  at  Washington,  Litchfield  Co.,  Conn.  ;  Green 
wich,  Conn.  ;  Meriden,  Conn.  ;  at  Park  Street  Church,  Boston, 
seven  years  ;  Music  Hall,  Independent  Congregational  Church, 
three  years,  —  fifteen  years  in  all  of  steady,  continuous  service. 
From  preacher  to  a  small  country  congregation,  his  abilities  and 
laborious  studentship  lifted  him  in  six  years  to  the  leading  pul 
pit  in  his  denomination.  In  Boston,  then  as  now  the  most  lit 
erary  city  in  the  country,  —  whose  pulpits  and  platforms  had 
been  for  fifty  years  their  pride,  where  eloquence  of  the  highest 
order  was  familiar  to  all,  —  he  remained  for  ten  years,  preach 
ing  to  larger  audiences  every  Sunday  than  any  other  preacher 
in  the  land,  and,  with  one  exception,  as  a  pulpit  orator,  without 
a  peer. 

At  the  close  of  these  fifteen  years  of  service  he  retired  from 


the  ministry  and  the  clerical  profession,  and  entered  upon  a 
course  of  study  best  calculated  in  his  opinion  to  fit  him  for  au 
thorship  and  the  platform,  broadly  interpreted.  He  went  abroad 
and  made  a  thorough  examination  of  English  commercial  meth 
ods,  —  her  trade  relations,  her  land  system,  and  the  tendency 
of  her  social  and  political  forces.  He  remained  a  close  observer 
of  the  great  battle  between  Gladstone  and  D'Israeli,  which  ended 
in  the  triumph  of  the  former,  and  then  returned  to  his  own  coun 
try  and  entered  upon  a  study  of  the  resources  and  characteris 
tics  of  this  continent.  To  this  investigation  he  devoted  six 
years,  and  when  he  has  completed  his  present  extensive  tour 
he  will  have  personally  visited,  with  the  exception  of  Alaska, 
every  representative  section  of  the  continent  between  Hudson's 
Bay  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  between  Newfoundland  and 
Vancouver.  Few  public  or  literary  men,  if  any,  have  studied 
so  thoroughly  the  resources  of  this  continent,  and  the  vast  prob 
lems  growing  out  of  our  continental  development,  as  Mr.  Mur 
ray.  It  is  greatly  to  be  desired,  from  every  point  of  view,  that 
one  so  well  equipped  for  intelligent  and  candid  discussion  of 
these  problems  may  be  constrained  by  popular  encouragement 
to  do  so. 

In  his  self-command,  in  his  reserve  force,  in  the  purity  of  his 
language,  almost  wholly  Saxon,  in  quiet  intensity  and  grace 
of  style,  in  dignity  of  bearing,  in  clearness  of  statement,  in  the 
finish  of  his  sentences,  and  in  charm  of  his  manner,  he  stands 
alone,  although  suggesting  comparison,  in  one  or  more  of  these 
attributes,  with  many  great  writers. 

Three  years  ago  he.  began  to  read  his  now  celebrated  story, 
"  How  John  Norton  the  Trapper  kept  his  Christmas,"  and  the 
people  have  insisted  on  hearing  the  author  render  this  quaint, 
humorous,  and  pathetic  bit  of  realism  until  it  has  already  passed 
its  three  hundred  and  fiftieth  delivery  from  the  platform,  and 
has  been  sold  in  book-form  by  thousands. 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 

RENEWED  BOOKS  ARE  SUBJECT  TO  IMMEDIATE 
RECALL 


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LIBRARY,  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  DAVIS 

BookSlip-50m-9,'70(N9877s8)458 — A-31/5,6 


N9  818033 


Murray,  W.H.H. 
Daylight  land. 


PS2459 

M43 
D3 


l_  I  BR  ARY 

UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA 
D  AVIS 


